


A witch in Thrawn's net

by elenapadmeamidala



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Wrong Boy-Who-Lived (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2020-04-24 14:12:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 120,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19174939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elenapadmeamidala/pseuds/elenapadmeamidala
Summary: Grand Admiral Thrawn is known to be ruthless & highly intelligent.What happens when one of his conscripts happens to be a witch from a newly conquered planet with diverse cultures, different mindsets. Can she come to terms with her imperial service or will she fail to stay alive? Will he figure out that one of his conscripts is more than she appears to be?





	1. First day on Duty

 

Pacing in the grey duraplast turbolift she nervously fiddled with her cap, that was hiding her freshly cut, unruly hair, which she had inherited from her father. But thanks to imperial regulations they had cropped it short.

 

It was her first day as crewman and her heart was beating mercilessly in her chest; she was feeling quite faint. Unfortunately, she had not been able to get much into her stomach. In a few seconds she would have to present herself to her commanding officer on the bridge and would be evaluated every second of her shift lasting twelve hours without anything to eat or drink or any pause at all. How should she be able to perform her duties perfectly without nutrition or water for that many hours? Her brain needed that! Her metabolism had always been fast and going without food for such a long time was a horrible thought indeed. She hated the Empire with all her heart, but she could not do anything openly against them or her family would be doomed.  

 

Taking a deep breath, she tried to get her jitters under control. She knew she was way too early for her shift, but better early than too late. She dared not to imagine what her superior ensign would be able to do to her if she were late. Shoot her on the spot probably or worse.  Years of studying, dedication to science and art on her planet and this was her reward?

 

She would have to do this for the next few years of her life. Probably, even until her death: Being an imperial crewman or woman (but the empire did not care about gender sensitive terminology.)

 

She vividly remembered the day, the empire had appeared and conquered her planet. The sheer terror in her fellow earthlings’ faces of the appearance of several Star destroyers seemingly out of nowhere. The utter chaos that had followed. Their primary attacks around the world, had lured each politician of each country exactly where the empire had wanted them to be: Trapped in the government houses only to be destroyed by Star Destroyers in the second wave of attacks. Thinking back on it the empire had known their procedures well.  It seemed a bit too well. She assumed that they had to have their tiny planet under observation for quite some time.

The destruction of the Houses of parliament and Buckingham Palace was still ingrained in her inner eye. Like so many others, she had felt lost, helpless and extremely angry. Yes, their country had been having a difficult time, but had prevailed over the centuries, but all hope for the future was destroyed with it. Nothing but a pile of ash in huge grates had been left at their places. It was the day her studies had become worthless in the eyes of the new power.

 

Harriet sighed heavily. All she could do know was survive and do her best in order to keep her family safe. But then why did it feel so wrong serving the empire? Did this Empire wipe out whole civilizations or aliens just because they were different or believed in different things or because they needed scapegoats?  Although she hoped not, she would not put it past them. The total death count on Earth following the empire’s attacks pointed strongly in that direction. Totalitarian regimes tended to not think about their citizens.

 She yearned to be on the right side, to do the right thing and fight against the oppressors she had to work for. How many fellow conscripts would she work with? Were they brainwashed? She remembered that they had tried to bend her mind her during her “training”. She rather called it indoctrination in one of the Base Academies they were forced to attend. They had performed all the classic tricks of brainwashing: Constant sleep deprivation, harsh physical training, physical violence and hearing the Imperial Codes all the time. Even in the bathroom. Although she knew about these tricks from her studies, she was sure that she was one of the rare few, who had been able to keep their minds straight. Blessed were those that could forget.

 

The Imperial Naval Code was something she could recite in her sleep now, but she mentally refused to live by it. This was her personal rebellion, which they would not take from her.

 

 _'_ _I will honour the Empire in my thoughts and actions'_

_Ha. There is nothing to honour! I will never honour my oppressors._

Given the chance she would help the Rebellion at any chance she got, but as long as her family remained on her imperial controlled planet she had no choice but “obey her superiors” as the second code phrase stated.

 

' _I will never shirk form my duties'_

_It depends on what my duties are. What if I am told to destroy a city or kill a person? I cannot and will not kill. It is against my Hippocratic Oath_. She shuddered at the idea. _But what happens to my family then? Well, I just have to find a way around it._

She tried calming her shaking hands. Two more decks and she would arrive on the bridge.

 

_'I will maintain impeccable standards of conduct and appearance'_

_Only visually to the officers’ faces, but mentally I will kill you fascist little bottoms._

_'I will use imperial resources responsible.'_

_Yeah, sure about that one, but they have failed to specify responsible. Maybe I can talk myself out of it. Or not._

She was just a dispensable little; female crewman from the outer, newly discovered systems after all.

_'I will complete every mission without hesitation, ambiguity or mercy.'_

_Not if the mission is ludicrous and my superior does not realize it._

The core officers were not the smartest bulbs after all. One particularly nasty one had even mocked her and the other conscripts regularly in basic training that they were dispensable “vermin” with no right to ever go and see “a real imperial academy” from the inside. Well, the joke had been on him in the end.

Well, she had had no desire to go back there, but she had displayed on several occasions that she had been much smarter than that lieutenant training them by pointing out possible weaknesses of the imperial code. Maybe there was still hope for the Rebellion after all as she had been harshly reprimanded for even suggesting that there was a weakness in the code.

 

_'I will recognize that the Empire is greater than myself and be willing to die in its service.'_

_Not bloody likely. I do NOT die for this regime and I do certainly NOT recognize that it is greater than myself._ She balled her fists. _Fighting for freedom and equality is something worth fighting for. Not the Empire. I’ll rather adhere to the Universal declaration of human rights and extend it to all alien species, and I will definitely not go around calling out those not living up to the standards of the naval code._

She could feel working herself into anger against her oppressor and the feeling grew stronger than the initiate feeling of panic. No, she would survive and stay true to herself. Imperials be damned! She would never fully become one of them!

 

She took one more deep calming breath and stepped out of the lift onto the bridge, looking more determined at the strict and measuring face of Commander Faro, while she climbed down to the sunken pit where the workstations were located and other crewmen still worked until their shifts were over.

 

Ensign Mayr stepped away from behind another crewman and walked towards her. Placing her hands behind her back she straightened and looked at the sandy blond man:

 

“Crewwoman Potter reporting for duty, Sir.” she stated and was close to slapping her hand in front of her mouth.

 

“Apologies, Sir. I meant Crewman Potter for duty, Sir.”

Damn her mind could not stand still for one time. Could it? To be called crewman had bugged her all the time and it had slipped at the most impropriate moment. _Typical!_

 

“You are fifteen minutes early, Crewman” her superior officer stated. “I suggest starting to familiarize yourself with the use of a chronometer.”

 

_Shouldn’t he be happy that I’m early rather than too late? Apparently not._

“Furthermore, you are expected to report to my office after your shift for a brush up on imperial protocol. Is that clear, Crewman?” he snapped emphasizing the word man.

 

“Yes, Sir.” she replied nodding and hoped that it did not sound to rebellious, especially as she had just stopped her hand from mock saluting her officer. Surviving was her agenda and not antagonizing the man, who just coldly raised his eyebrow.

 

“You may take your seat.” he snapped at her thin lipped and the other crewman whose shift would come to an end jumped out of his seat and was about to move away.

 

“Ah. Crewman. I think you forgot to log out.” she whispered at the other, who stopped red faced and rushed back to log himself out while mumbling “sorry, sorry, sorry.”

 

 She carefully smiled at him which made him look at more ease as he smiled back. Apparently, she was not the only rookie on Grand admiral’s Flagship. As the commander himself was currently on the bridge she knew that the small exchange would not go unnoticed. He was known to have a watchful eye and expected everyone’s work to be impeccable.

 

She just had to have the misfortune at serving at the Chimera. Her odds of survival were not good. Not good at all. _Well, it could have been worse.  Could have been the executor._ Luckily, she had dodged that bullet.

 

Logging in at her station the data started flowing, but not fast enough for her taste. The data was moving over her screen as if it was drawn by a snail. That was to slow for her. She carefully adjusted the setting and lost herself in the now fast rolling data flow. It was still not very mentally stimulating as she she read and redirected the data. She also was trained in operating the tractor beams, but at the moment she was assigned to the communications division on the bridge.

 

Once in a while she could sense the new Ensign, who just had started his shift to relieve Ensign Mayr, watching over her shoulder or she could spot the shadow indicating that someone was silently watching her from the walkway of the bridge. Her breath hitched at that. Yes, she was new to the bridge, but she hated being observed.

 

 _Please don’t let it be the commander._ She was not doing anything wrong, or did she? Was that an encrypted message? She focused on it again and stopped the data flow as it had been indeed one and it was on her workstation. Should she make her ensign aware of it? No, finally she had a more challenging task and she decided to have a little bit of fun. She carefully looked to the right and to the left to look if the ensign was anywhere near her and as he was currently observing the tractor beam team she got to work. Well whoever had sent this message was not very talented in encrypting as it took her no less than five minutes to decrypt it and rely it further to the captain’s attention.

 

Ok. Maybe breaking the captain’s coded messages was probably not the best idea as she heard his sharp intake of breath. She dared to turn slightly and peak up, but only saw him reading something on his holodisk furrowing his eyebrows. _Bad idea indeed._

 

She quickly turned back to her workstation as she did not dare to investigate if their Chiss Commander was aware of what she had done, and she did not want to get on his radar. That would be deadly for her indeed. She had not yet dared to even look in his direction.

 

The rest of her shift, which had dragged on her nerves as nothing more particularly challenging had happened, came finally to an end when her colleague from the previous shift came back to relieve her. Just as she was about to log out of her workstation she received reminding orders that she had to report immediately, without any delay to Ensign Mayr.

 

 _Great_. Could her day become any worse? She was parched, her stomach was growling violently, and she was weak on her feet. Her butt and back were feeling stiff from sitting on her hard seat at her workstation. Dragging herself from the sunken pit to the elevator which seemed like an eternity, from the bridge to the office she just hoped that she would not fall asleep standing in Ensign Mayr’s office.

 

 

 


	2. Turbolift musings

It was official. Ensign Mayr had it out for her. It had been her first day as crewman aboard the Chimera and it already felt like an eternity. Her entire body ached with cramps as the Ensign had let her stand attention rigidly for hours in his “office” which he shared with two other males of his rank. Those other two working on their stations had not beaten their eyelashes. Harriet therefore assumed that this was most likely a usual occurrence.

 

Afterwards he had ordered her to follow him and she had to complete drills, to the very amusement of the training storm troopers and other personal on the “recreation” deck. It seemed that she was punished severely for something, but she could not, for the life of her figure out, what that something was. Her muscles were burning and protesting, but she refused to give in.

 

She had endured her neglecting family which had always preferred her oh-so-wonderfully-gifted-brother-who-simply-would-not-die, the hardships of studying in the muggle world while being forced to stay at Hogwarts, the second dark reign of Lord Voldemort. Unlike her brother, she had actually dared to venture out into mortal danger for the Order. Alexander had been kept in the Potter Manor. Even though he had wanted to go out and fight. But what had hurt her the most was, that they had not even realized that she had been missing for months. It spoke volumes about their not existing love for her.  She had ventured out not only because she wanted Voldemort gone, but also because her other family, the Dursleys had been her major concern. While her biological family had been ignorant towards her, the Dursleys had slowly warmed up to her throughout the years. The fact that she had been tutoring Dudley and helped him to lose weight, was probably part of why Petunia “forgot” that Harriet was a witch.

The will to keep them safe had always overridden her suicidal thoughts which had cropped up on occasion. Especially, when her mother had forgotten again that she had her birthday the same day as her twin brother and other events or when she had been able to achieve something.

 

Her drive for perfection came out of her desire to finally be noticed by her family, but it had taken years in therapy to realise that she would never be noticed by her family. She had survived her obnoxious pure-blooded ex-boyfriend and what he had done to her.

 

No! She would not be defeated by some stupid, core world ensign with a serious power complex.

 

_There’s no way I’m going to be his next victim!_

 

She would not give in, but she would endure it. He would be tired of her soon enough if she did not react to his unjust behaviour.  On Earth she would have been able to complain about this, but here she was unable to call him out to his superiors. She would only make matters worse.

She was now literally putting one step after the other as she was completely drained, her head pounded because of dehydration or extremely low blood sugar which made her nauseous as she had not been able to grab a bite after her twelve hour shift. It was probably a combination of both.

Looking at her chronometer she groaned loudly as she stepped into the grey turbolift to reach the sleeping barracks. Her next shift started in four hours! If she didn’t get sleep soon she would most likely oversleep in the morning. Or whatever morning was. It was hard to tell the difference in space without a sun to guide her. Morning for her was when she had to get up for her shift.

She leaned her body against the cold metal of the lift wall and enjoyed the cooling effect on her pounding head.   Very slowly and sluggishly, she mentally went through the things she could skip before getting to bed, but somehow her thoughts circled without reaching a final conclusion. It was probably better if she just went to bed straight anyway and take a potion for regaining her strength, which she had smuggled on to the ship. Being a witch sometimes had its perks. The lift stopped and Harry glanced at the display, which told her that she had not yet reached her deck.

 _Great_.

 Someone was about to join her in the lift. She rolled her eyes and barely had enough time to register that a tall person in a white uniform was entering the lift. When she finally registered that the person was actually blue skinned she jumped immediately with racing heart and stood attention.

  _No! Worst day ever!_

The commander of the Star Destroyer was in the same lift! Did he sleep at all? Did his species require less sleep than humans or none at all? What should she do? Greet him? Ignore him?

She decided on staring at the display showing the deck numbers while standing attention although her muscles where aching, protesting and she could have sworn that some of her bones were cracking. She hoped that she was not trembling due to the effort it cost her.

 

Seconds tickled by while Commander Thrawn standing next to her was reading something intently on his datapad.  Harriet held her breath and dared not to make a sound. She even considered her breathing to loud, while her pulse was racing in her throat.

 

Did the lift always take that long? Would she have to get off the lift before the Commander? How should she behave when leaving it before him? Should she say something or acknowledge his overpowering presence non-verbally? She had no idea as she had never been briefed on things or situations like that. Only what was required of her on the bridge.  What if she involuntarily did something to upset him because she did not know the proper protocol The empire just loved to have uncountable official and even more unofficial protocols. It was one thing to upset Ensign Mayr, but a completely different and even dangerous one to upset the highest commander of the Star Destroyer. Maybe she was lucky and he had not noticed her, although she doubted it. She could stay in the lift longer than him and wait for him to get off and avoid the potential break of protocol.

 

“At ease. Crewman.” the commander finally said in a deep, calm and very cultivated sounding voice. Harriet gulped nervously, finally dared to take a breath which her lungs happily received and relaxed her stance somewhat.

 

“I believe your next shift starts in…” he looked at his chronometer on his datapad. “Three point 5 hours. Does it not?” he asked.

 

“Yes, Sir.” she croaked due to her dry throat, cleared it and answered his question in a stronger voice than she actually felt “It does indeed.”

 

_How does he know that!? Has he memorized every personal’s shift roaster? Ok, probably just of the bridge’s personal._

The commander was silent for a moment and looked as if he was contemplating something until he finally said one word:”Curious.”

Harriet barely registered that the lift stopped again, the doors opened and the commander stepped out while saying: “Get some rest, crewman.”

 

The doors closed after him and Harriet stumbled back to the cold wall in her back and slid down as her legs gave way. Where should she get the strength to get up again and make it to her bed?!  Two decks down the lift doors opened again and she struggled to get on her feet again as she dragged herself to her small, hard cot among hundred others and fell head forward into it and into much needed oblivion.

 

* * *

 

 

Deep under the grounds of the Metropolis London the Ministry of Magic had called for an assembly of all wizards of Great Britain. This had never happened before, but the dire circumstances had called for it. The statue standing in the ministry had been lowered to the ground to make more space for wizards and other adjustments had been fulfilled to get them all in the ministry. Kingsly Shacklebolt the current minister of magic standing on a podium watched the masses with some trepidation. There were too many people cramped in a confined space without enough exits. Anything could happen.

He raised his wand and uttered the Sonorus spell which amplified the voice intensity to its maximum potential.

 

“Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you for coming. You are probably wondering, why we have an Assembly of this magnitude, especially as we never had one before. Not even in out darkest hours, but certain things have happened which give us no other choice than calling for an Assembly.”

 

He paused shortly to get the fellow wizards full attention. The chatter died down to make way to an eerie silence.

“As you may have noticed, there has been a major change of leadership in the Muggle world. All the Muggle’s Parliaments, Assemblies, and other Leaderships have been destroyed and replaced by one “Governor” for the entire planet.

“What, NOW yer realize that!” a mousy elderly woman shouted angrily.

 “We’ve lived with that changed leadership for more than two years while you cower and hide yerself behind magic in yer hidden world.”

 

 Shacklebolt deduced that she was probably a Muggle-born and he had to admit that he only found out about that change when he had been unable to reach the Muggle Prime Minister. Further investigation by the Aurors had brought even more worrisome things to light. There were several “garrisons” on each continent, people too afraid to speak up against their oppressors and each family was missing or praying for one or more family members. Several, formerly thriving cities had been completely wiped out, others were currently rebuilt.

 

Lily Potter, the saviour’s mother and her family had been completely shocked when he had enquired, if they had known anything about it, which they had declined as she had not been in contact with her muggle sister for years. She had practically left the Muggle world when she had entered the Wizarding world. As he had known her to be a Muggle-born he had assumed that she, like most Muggle borns, would keep close ties with her former world.

 

An intern investigation had also dug up evidence that many families with wizarding children or other members with ties to the Magical world had written desperate letters asking for help to vanish into the Magical World to avoid losing them to the “Empire” which had taken over the planet.

So far it was still unknown who had rerouted the letters and refused help which he as minster would have granted to them. Their anger and fury was naturally understandable, but could also lead to the outbreak of another war in the magical community. Pureblooded favouritism was still present after the second wizarding war although he worked 24/7 to root it out.

 

When he had tried to get a hold of a former Order member who had foolishly risked her life and who had always preferred the Muggle World to the Wizarding one he had unfortunately found out that she was one of those who had disappeared for “serving the Empire.”

There were now two options on how to proceed and the Wizengamot was not able to decide on one, which was the reason why he had decided to ask the entire populous of this country. All over the world other magical societies were doing the same.

 

Shacklebolt calmly explained the dire situation to his audience with his deep slow voice. He apologized to the Muggle-borns whose letters had been detained and promised that he would do everything to get their members back, but the simmering anger of the Muggle-borns was very palatable and he knew that he had to tread carefully. He had first opted to leave it out, but with that he would have made the same mistake as his predecessors and it would have eventually come out.

“We have therefore only two options:

 Option 1 would be that we shut us off from the Muggle world and protect our own. Wizards would be forced to decide between one of the worlds and to break off any contacts they have in the other. Should you decide to live in the Muggle World you would have to hand in your Wand and anything magical you own. If you prefer the Ministry would offer to obliviate you after an auror or someone similar has agreed to keep watch over them.”

 

 Shacklebolt hoped that they would opt for option two because he hated Option one and would cause to huge tensions and could eventually lead to the extinction of wizard kind in this country because of the very limited gene pool. A commenting murmur went through the crowd. He took a deep breath and continued:

 

“Option 2 would be that we begin to help the Muggle World to rebuild their homes, cities and find their missing family members. We would aid them in their pursuit to fight the empire. At first it would be hidden, but as soon as we can show results we could reveal us to them.  I beseech you. Vote carefully, because Option one will eventually lead to an even more limited gene pool and therefore decline of magic. You would condemn families to live apart and make no mistake. We can only shut us off from the Muggle world for some time until the Empire finds out about us. From what we have gathered the empire is very capable of finding things out. I know ask you to cast your vote. Red for option 1 and Green for Option 2. Decide carefully as this vote can’t be overturned.”  

 

He pointed his wand upwards and shot his ballot with colour green against the ceiling which displayed the number one as he had been the first voter. More and more wands where raised and one of the two colours shot towards the ceiling. With mentally trembling heart he carefully raised his bald head towards the ceiling to find out the final results.


	3. Shuttle incident

_One early morning in July a small dark-haired girl was tossing and turning in her soft feathery bed with light blue linen. The early morning sun was sending her soft rays through the open window and she could smell the fresh morning dew on the freshly cut green grass. Harriet always slept with open windows in summer to catch the gentle breeze cooling the air at night, but kept them closed during the burning heat of the day. Her eyes slowly roamed her room, which was sparsely furnished. She had a huge wooden bed, a desk and a chair, a few shelves, who were to her dismay still relatively empty, a wardrobe and a bathroom. But it was nothing she had received from her parents. After Voldemort’s “demise” the family had moved back to Potter Manor, who had been in dire need of renovation. Not because it had been so badly kept, but because as Dumbledore had predicted Voldemort would search for them there, but had not found their family. Until the completion of the renovation they had lived with Sirius, yet she already felt that something had changed in the family dynamics._

_Before the attack, they had done everything together. Her mother had sung to them, her father had read stories and tales of Beedle the Bard or the Grimm’s tales to them and played with them. But now her parents had done a u-turn and only did all that with her brother. Was the strange darkness surrounding him to blame for that? A silent tear slid down her cheeks onto her pillow and she gulped heavily, while trying to hold back more of them. She remembered that she had be happy at first when they had finally be able to move back in Potter Manor, but it had soon been diminished when her brother had been allowed to choose his room in the first floor. When she had asked her parents if she also could choose one for herself she had not received an answer. She hardly received an answer nowadays. Only scolding, when she had destroyed something belonging to her brother to get their attention.  A loving word or words of praise for her from her parent’s lips was the only thing she yearned for, but she knew that she would not receive it. She had therefore roamed the manor alone until she found this large room on the second floor and had chosen it as hers. Away from her family’s floor._

_Today was her 6 th birthday, but she doubted that she would receive any presents except one from Remus and one from Sirius. Although on second thought Sirius would probably forget. Last year he had forgotten too and although she was not supposed to know this, Remus had reminded him to get one for his second godchild. When she strained her ears now, she could already hear preparations for Alexander’s lavish birthday party. It was unfair. Why did he get such parties and she did not. They could both not remember what had happened on this fateful night, but Dumbledore had hailed her pompous brother the saviour of the wizarding world while disregarding her presence completely. She felt that she was already too awake to go back to sleep, although she would have preferred to sleep through the entire day for not having to witness the party and the sickening doting on her brother or the presenting of the “perfect” family. _

_Maybe she could go through their family’s potion supplies and find a sleeping potion to knock her out. She sighed sadly. Or she could get some books from the large family library downstairs again, but it would be hard to find a book which she had not yet memorized. Something was wrong with her mind. Her brother even called her a freak, when adults were nowhere to be seen. She was unable to forget anything that has ever happened to her, with the exception of Voldemort’s attack. She had realized when they had stayed at Sirius house, when she had mentally been able to walk through her own good memories of better days.  Now she was slowly building a library in her mind palace. She had needed to organize her mind somehow._

_Or maybe she was lucky and her parents would finally remember that it was her birthday too. She slowly stood up, made her bed and reluctantly got ready to greet the day. A few minutes later she stepped down the last stairways into their kitchen and unfortunately ran into her busy mother who was surrounded by three busy house elves._

_“Ah, Harriet. Perfect timing. “she said happily. “They just delivered the birthday cake. Be a good girl and help me get Alexander’s birthday cake outside.”_

_She looked at the four storey cake of chocolate with green icing, which said:”Happy Birthday, Alexander”._

_Harriet slowly clenched and unclenched her hands and tried to get her growing fury under control._

_“Where is mine?” she asked her mother. She was done being the good girl._

_“Don’t make a fuss and help me.” her mother ordered ignoring the question._

_Harriet tried again. “Where is mine, mother?”_

_“Yours what?” her mother asked confused._

_“My birthday cake! It’s my birthday too!” Harriet stomped her foot shouting at her mother._

_“You can have a piece of Alex’s cake later. Now help me.” she ordered again._

_Harriet finally lost control of her anger! Why was she deemed less than her brother? She deserved to have her own birthday cake and her birthday. The lights in the kitchen began flickering as she jumped next to the counter with a snarl and angrily pulled the tray the cake was resting on. She felt that it was too heavy for her alone but she could feel something in her snap too and could have sworn that the tray was hovering a few centimetres over the counter. She pulled and threw the cake with its tray on the floor where it burst into all directions before her mother could stop her. The cake was now uneatable. That had felt good until she turned around and she felt a short bad sting on her left cheek which violently turned her head and upper body to the right._

 

* * *

Harry jerked upwards in her cot and hit her head on the underside of the cot above her. Great another dream about her past. She slowly rubbed her front and her eyes and checked her chronometer. Half an hour to her shift after less than four hours asleep. This had gone on for over a month now and she did not know how long she could continue like this before breaking down. Her pepper up potions could only work for some time and she often felt close to crying due to her tiredness. Harry hastily got out of her cot but had to steady herself as her vision blurred shortly. She had stood up too suddenly again. After a moment it cleared and she stepped over to her locker to get her nutritional drinking ration which she had gotten yesterday evening from the cantina. The people on the ship, workers and officers alike were advised to take these nutritional drinks in favour of the normal food, but it was not obligatory. She certainly saw the advantage in that although she preferred normal food. As she had been rations behind she had been able to take two from the cantina although they usually were very strict in enforcing the rations. Harry drowned that ration in two gulps and from her magically hidden pocket, she uncorked a small vile of pepper up potion and put a second one in her working overall. She did not know if she would be able to take the second one, but during this month it had helped her considerably.  Carefully checking if someone was watching she mumbled “Scourgify” and felt as yesterday’s grime, sweat and dirt on her body, on her hair and on her overall disappeared. She sighed contently. What would she give for a warm watery shower? She checked her chronometer again. Twenty minutes to her shift. Damn. She needed to hurry. No time to get to the hairdresser to cut the newly grown hair. No matter what she did, her hair always grew back to her normal length during her sleep. She patted it as best as she could, put it in a messy knot, glamoured it and put on her cap. She locked her locker and jogged towards the nearest elevator to the bridge ignoring the aghast gazes of the other individuals in the corridor but was used to it by now. This was the only exercise she would get, except the drills she would surely be forced to do again today. One day she would make Ensign Mayr pay for what he put her through after every shift. Ten minutes later the doors slid open and she stepped on the familiar bridge and mentally prepared herself for another confrontational meeting with her direct superior. She could spot the blue skinned commander of the fleet with several officers around a projector in the command room on the left side of the bridge, which could be separated from it by closing the durasteel doors.  On the right side before the control station, she had to pass in order to climb down to her pit, she saw an ISB agent reading something on his datapad. Just as she passed the station he addressed her and neck hair straightened.

“Crewman Potter?.” She froze, her breath hitched and her heartbeat accelerated. What could he want from me? She recalled her training in the academy, turned towards him, put her hands together behind her back and stood attention. “Yes Sir. Is there a problem?” Her voice sounded more confident than she felt.

“You tell me, crewman.” he stated in a bored, yet accusing tone.

“Sir, if I have done something wrong then I’m unaware of it.” she answered truthfully meeting the broad-shouldered agent’s inquisitive stare.

“I received information that you have ignored orders for your weekly mandatory physical training assessment.”

 _What orders?!_ Her eyebrows shot up at the surprise. She could now feel her rapid pulse in her throat. She had only received Ensign Mayr’s orders. What orders was the brown haired ISB agent referring to?

“With all due respect, Sir. I did not receive such orders.” she answered with wavering voice.

“You receive your orders via your workstation, do you not?” he asked clearly enjoying seeing her squirm.

“Yes, Sir. But the only orders I received were orders from ensign Mayr.” she answered wondering if she would be late for her shift as she did not dare to look at her chronometer.

“I am sure that if you check my log then you’ll see that I have never received them.”

The ISB agent’s right eyebrow rose as if he doubted her statement. “You seem nervous, Crewman? Any particular reason why?” he enquired.

“I am probably late for my shift by now, Sir and Ensign Mayr is not a forgiving man.” she answered and gulped at the agent’s astonished expression. He could interpret it as him being accused of being the reason for her being late to her shift, which he technically was and the way she had answered him could also be interpreted as disrespectful towards him.

“Alright, crewman. You are dismissed.” He turned back towards his workstation and Harry spun around on her heel and jumped down into the pit ignoring the ladder steps in the wall as this was faster and landed relatively silent which she was mentally proud of and trod carefully towards her workstation which was unfortunately blocked by the very devil himself: Ensign Mayr.

 “Crewman Potter reporting for duty, Sir.” she said dully.

“You are late again, Crewman.” he grinned maliciously. “It seems that you are incapable of following simple directions.” _Not my fault, you little piece of shit_. She thought, while keeping her face emotionless. Arguing that it was not her fault was useless, she knew. _Just ignore him._ She mentally repeated for the possibly hundred’s time this month.

“May I go to my station now?” she asked connecting her gaze with the other young crewman who worked the shift before her. Today he looked even more worn out than usual. _That’s not good._ Her ensign took a step back and allowed her to pass him. The other crewman logged himself out in rapid speed and jumped of his seat and wavered. His face was ghostly pale and he seemed rather nervous as he carefully shot a glance towards their superior.  Harriet did not know what came over her, but she put her right hand on his left shoulder and squeezed it gently, while giving him one of her “calming” smiles. At least her cousin had dubbed her facial expression as that. The young crewman stopped startled, but seeing her smile he nodded a short thanks to her. As she took her seat and logged herself in the system she watched him limping towards the steps in wall and wondered what had happened to him. Finally she caught herself and shook her head to clear it and worked the data flow after adjusting it to her favourite speed.

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, minutes before Ensign Mayr would be relieved from his shift by another ensign she received data indicating that an imperial shuttle was directed towards them. “Shuttle TWA75. Please transmit clearance code.” she transmitted with smiling lips although she did not feel like smiling. During her communications training before the empire had come to earth she had learned that people who smiled while talking over the phone sounded friendlier. This was similar and she kept it up as she did not know who was at the other end of the transmission.  There was no answer. That was strange. Just as she wanted to repeat herself a transmission came through.

“Ah. Yes. Ahm. Transmitting Codes now.” That did not sound imperial! Maybe she was wrong and someone new to the procedure was flying the shuttle or it had been hijacked. The correct codes appeared on her screen.

She turned towards her ensign and addressed him. “Sir. An imperial shuttle requests to dock, but something is wrong.”

“Did they transmit the correct clearance codes?” he snapped at her.

“They did, but with considerable delay in their response and not in the standard phrasing.” she answered.

“Then clear them for docking.” he ordered. 

“But Sir, the codes could have been in the shuttle when it was hijacked.”

“Imperial shuttles don’t get hijacked, crewman. No do as you’re ordered.” he hissed hovering over her shoulder. Before she could stop herself she threw her hands up, while shaking her head. Her feeling told her that something was fishy, but she had to follow orders unfortunately. She hated following orders.

“Shuttle TWA75, you are cleared for landing. Proceed to bay 11.”

“Copy that.” came the now immediate response and she could have sworn that she heard a relieved sigh in the background. As she transmitted the clearance for the shuttle to the bay personal, she hesitated for a moment but then quickly added the code for possible danger. It was against her orders, but the only thing she could to prevent an infiltration.

Their fleet was currently assigned to the Taldot sector near the Great Kashyyyk Branch which ran from Zeltros to Charros IV. Several imperial shipments had been targeted and destroyed by pirates and crime syndicates. Their commander had been made Grand Admiral by the emperor after his victory at Batonn two month ago, before she was assigned to his flagship and he had requested to get command over the seventh fleet, which was known for its immense fire power. She desperately hoped that they were pirates or individuals from crime syndicates and not rebels. Or maybe she was just paranoid and those flying the ship were really just rookies. But then again the correct procedures and phrases were drilled into their heads that such a slip should not happen. Well, they would see.

She went back to her data flows but in the back of her mind the strange feeling that something was wrong remained.

 

Suddenly she heard a startled exclamation from the opposite pit.

“Sir, there is reported shooting in hangar bay 11.” The Lieutenant on the walkway immediately informed the captain who bellowed orders into his comm and she dared not to breathe. As the elevators to the bridge were momentarily disabled to prevent any infiltrator from entering in case they were able to flee from the hanger, Ensign Mayr was stuck. Grand Admiral Thrawn emerging from the command room with other officers ordered the Troopers to set their blasters to stun as he wanted the infiltrators alive. The bridge was buzzing with activity.

 

Several tense minutes passed and Harry had to slow down her dataflow as her concentration slipped several times. Finally, one trooper commander commed the bridge to inform them that they had captured six individuals using stolen trooper armour and that they would transfer them into the detention levels for questioning. There had been no fatalities on the infiltrator’s side but two on the empire’s side. Bitter bilge was rising in her throat as Harry realized that she was responsible for the loss of two lives. Maybe even two conscripts like her, whose family would never see them again.

 

The blues skinned commander slowly swept over the walkway towards the windows of the bridge followed by his assistant Vanto.  He seemed to be deep in thought.  After a while he turned on his heels and swept back to the middle of the walkway.

“Who cleared that shuttle?” he asked addressing the working personnel. Harry stopped the dataflow, closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath to prepare herself. There was every chance that Ensign Mayr would throw her under the bus, just to safe his own skin. She stood up from her seat and stood attention and addressed her commander.

“I did, Sir.” she replied not daring to break eye contact.

“I see. Was there anything unusual?”  he enquired his tone seemed friendly, but there was a subtle hint of a threat implied. Or maybe she just imagined it.

“Yes, there was.” she acknowledged. “I addressed the approaching shuttle with the standard phrasing asking for their clearance codes but the response time from the shuttle was unusually long and their partially non-standard phrasing either suggested someone new to his station or someone with not sufficient knowledge of imperial procedures.”

Tapping something on his data pad he remarked. “I see the clearance codes were valid.”

Harry quickly dared to peek towards Ensign Mayr, who stood tenser than normal, and back to the Grand Admiral.

“That is curious. You also issued a code yellow alert to the hanger personal? Why?” he remarked fixing her with his red eyed hard stare while pulling his right eyebrow up.

She took a second nervous peek towards Ensign Mayr, who now had a furious look on his face and back to the Commander.

“Because, I alerted my direct superior about my suspicion but was ordered to follow standard procedure and grant the landing permit in hanger 11.”

“Issuing such an alert without your superior’s approval is above your rank, crewman.” Thrawn stated.

“Sir, if I may. Crewman Potter is incapable of following sandard procedure.” Ensign Mayr cut in strutting towards Harry, who opened her mouth to defend herself, but closed it again while her hands clenched and unclenched behind her back in anger. She probably looked like a carp out of the water, but she could not stop it. She wanted to defend herself so desperately, but it would not help her at all.

 _Ignoring standard procedure! I have always followed standard procedure, but he just always finds something to prove to me that I’m worth nothing as a conscript._   _He will make everything look like I am responsible for what happened! I warned him that something was wrong! He ignored it!_ She had the strong urge to strangle him right here in front of everyone or punch him to pulp. She had not yet decided. _What the hell am I thinking?_

 

The white uniformed commander coldly raised his eyebrow at Ensign Mayr who stopped in his tracks and his gaze fell back at her. She hated standing on a lower level as she had to crane her neck to look up and from her point of view the commander on the walkway looked even taller than he already was.

 

“Crewman Potter.” he addressed her again emphasizing her name.

 

“I know that it is above my rank, Sir.” she answered truthfully. “But as stated earlier I made Ensign Mayr aware of my suspicion, but was ordered to clear the shuttle’s landing. I even warned him that the clearance codes could have been in the shuttle’s systems when it was hijacked. But I was ordered a second time to clear the shuttle for landing. His reasoning was that imperial shuttles don’t get hijacked.  I issued a code yellow alert, because we are operating in a system teeming with pirates and crime syndicates and therefore I wanted to prevent possible infiltration. Had I not done that then more than two lives would have been lost today, Sir.”

 

“I see. Do you know the difference between an error and a mistake, Ensign?" He asked with his deep and cultivated voice as he turned towards, Ensign Mayr, who gulped nervously and answered hesitantly: “No, Sir.”

"Anyone can make an error, Ensign. But that error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it." Thrawn lectured him and gestured towards Harry. “Crewman Potter corrected your error before it could become your mistake.”

Although Harry kept her face emotionless she enjoyed it immensely that her ensign was scolded by their scary superior and that she saw him squirming like little worm.

“I expect a full report detailing everything about that incident by both of you.” Thrawn ordered and surprised Harry by stating:”Crewman Potter. You are hereby elevated to the rank of Midshipman. Congratulations.”

Harry blinked processing what had just happened and thanked him:”Thank you, Sir.” 

Thrawn nodded shortly and proceeded back to the command bridge. She had been promoted. But she was just a conscript. She had been told countless times that conscripts did not get a promotion. She now had the authority to issue a code yellow. But she also needed to find out what she could do with her new rank and where her limitations were. She sat back on her seat and immersed herself again in the dataflow for the rest of her shift.

Just as she was about to log out she received several orders at once and groaned involuntarily. The reminder of her report to Grand Admiral Thrawn, which know had a deadline (3 hours from now), the usual orders from Ensign Mayr, orders for her monthly physical evaluation and the physical combat training assessment on the training deck. All of it was today.  She shortly looked at the time schedule and decided that Ensign Mayr had to wait. The other things took precedence. Especially her report to the Grand Admiral, because she knew that the Ensign would make her miss her other orders and her report. Chances were that she would not be able to get any sleep until her next shift.

 

* * *

 

The wood in the opulent black fireplace was crackling and the fire sent out its warm rays to light the office. But the current minister of magic, sitting bent over an important parchment trying to find any loopholes to the new legislation that the Wizengamot would pass within a week, did not feel its warmth. To his very dismay, the Wizarding world had elected to distance itself from the Muggle world in order to protect themselves. Only a few Wizarding communities had decided to help the Muggles.

A sharp knock on his door disrupted the silence, which made the former Auror jump.

“Mr. Shacklebolt, I’m sorry to disturb you, but you have a visitor.” his red haired assistant informed him.

Shacklebolt wearily sat back on his chair, rubbed his front with his left hand and nodded to let the visitor in. He knew that it must have been an important one or they would not have made it passed his fierce assistant. But it was the one person he had not dared to imagine.

A young man with white-blond hair and impeccable robes entered. _Why in Merlin’s name is Draco Malfoy in my office?_

“Mr. Malfoy” he greeted the young man shaking his hand. “This is an unexpected surprise. What can I do for you?”

“Well, Minister.” the other began sitting down on the chair opposite the desk.

“A little birdie told me that you are still looking for volunteers for the protection of wizards who elect to stay in the Muggle World.” he explained clasping his hands together.

“And you want to volunteer for that?” Shacklebolt enquired skeptically. “I assume you have an individual in mind?”

“That I do” the younger answered with a slight grin which made the minister uneasy. “I assume that she would choose to stay in the Muggle world as she has made a name for herself there and does not really favor the Wizarding world. As she is still at odds with her family, I doubt that anyone else has volunteered for her.”

 _That would be a bad idea!_ Shacklebolt mentally screamed having a vague idea who he could mean, but he chose to play the ignorant person.

“It would help if you could be a bit more specific as we are still collecting the names for the list of individuals staying in the Muggle World.” he answered.

“Harriet Thea Athena Potter, of course.”

 

 

 


	4. Report & Slicing

_One late rainy morning in September, heavy rain droplets were falling against the old window frames. The weather was matching her brooding mood perfectly and she continued watching the rain droplets hitting the window and running down the glass. It was her first day at school and she had looked forward to this day for ages. Especially since her last disastrous birthday. But now that it had finally arrived it was not what she had imagined. Remus had told her that she would learn many new things in school, but so far they had not even begun learning anything new. The friendly elderly brown haired teacher had welcomed them in school and asked them to tell her their names. She had then proceeded to tick off their names of her list and handed them a nameplate for their desk. Afterwards she had handed out some paper and asked them to draw their family and pets so that they could talk about it later, but Harriet didn’t want to draw, especially not about her family. She was not in the mood for drawing and one hour for drawing her family was simply not nearly enough time.  She wanted to learn something. Which books would they read?  Would they be allowed to write their own stories? She loved writing and inventing stories. They helped her to cast her mind far away. But her teacher had just laughed at her eager questions._

_A gentle hand touched her right shoulder and Harriet jumped before she realized that it was her teacher._

_“You are not drawing?” her teacher inquired gently and Harriet shook her head shyly._

_“I don’t want to draw. Alex is drawing our family anyway, so I don’t see why I should draw it too because it’s redundant” The elder woman smiled amused, looked back to her brother, swat down next to Harriet and whispered. “Do you want to draw something else?”_

_But Harriet shook her head again. “I’m not in the mood for drawing because I’m not inspired.” she whispered back._

_“Inspired?” Her teacher chuckled whispering back. “What would you like to do instead?” she asked._

_“Maybe read or… could I write something?” she asked eagerly._

_“You can read and write already?” her teacher asked with a surprised look on her face._

_Harriet nodded. “Since I was three years old.” she answered smiling proudly straightening her back._

_“Really.” Teacher asked taking a pencil out of her pencil case and writing on her white paper sheet and now it was Harriet’s turn to chuckle._

_WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK?_

_WHAT WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT BOOK YOU HAVE EVER READ?_

_“Can you answer these questions? Write your answers below the questions.” her teacher ordered her gently and Harriet complied by starting to writing her answers in cursive under the questions._

_I don’t have one favourite book, because there are so many to choose from. My favourite books are the Sherlock Holmes novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings novels by Tolkien, Books about Greek , Roman and Nordic Legends, and …_

_“I can’t list all of my favourite books on one sheet.” Harriet stated hesitantly biting her lower lip. Her teacher looked at her sheet with wide eyes._

_“Does the second question include non fictional books?”_

_“Of course…” her teacher trailed of clearly thinking about something else._

_“Mrs Sharpbeard” she heared her brother whine as he clearly did not like her getting more attention than him._

_“Just raise your hand when you are finished.” Mrs.Sharpbeard told her patting her shoulder twice and limped towards Alexander. But unfortunately for Harriet her teacher was too busy keeping the rest of the class in check afterwards that she did not see her raised hand._

_When the signal for the long awaited pause rang she remembered her order and asked Harriet to stay behind._

_“You’re in trouble now.” Her brother happily chanted using his sing song voice._

_She carefully stood up and brought her sheet towards her teacher’s desk and calmly told her that she had been bored and handed it to Mrs. Sharpbeard whose legs gave way and she plumbed into her chair.  Not only had she answered the questions writing one page each, but also had randomly selected a number with five digits and multiplied it several times until she had reached x20 and divided it until she reached the first number again on a second sheet._

_“Harriet, I’m afraid that you need to get tested.” Her teacher leaned back taking a deep breath._

_Harriet turned pale and stepped back. “No, please I don’t want that. I just want to learn something new.”_

_“No. You misunderstand. None of the other children can read or write yet.” she conveyed. “Can your brother”_

_“No!” Harriet exclaimed angrily stomping her foot. “He can’t!” Her teacher looked startled at her and explained._

_“What I meant with testing is that we need to know how advanced you are so that we can put you in the appropriate class, which is your level. Otherwise you’ll get bored”_

_“Away from Alexander?!” Harriet’s asked hopefully and her teacher frowned. Something was off about the two siblings._

_“If your level is above his, then yes.” she answered._

_Hours later._

_Lily and James came to pick up their children from their first school day but were surprised when Alexander’s teacher told them that she needed to talk to them. When Lily heard that it was not about her son, but about her daughter she huffed angrily._

_“What has she done now?” she asked crossing her arms while James stared angrily at her._

_“She has done nothing to worry about Mrs. Potter.”Mrs. Sharpbeard smiled ignoring the obvious tension towards her pupil for the moment. “But she needs to be tested and placed into a class appropriate for her level.”_

_“So we enrolled her too early?” James asked. “Even primary school is too difficult for her. Is that it? It’s the first day for Merl … God’s sake.”_

_“She always was a trouble maker. So it’s not surprising.” Lily concurred. Alexander standing behind his parents not knowing what was going on smirked, but Harriet fought hard against her gathering tears and felt a sharp familiar ache above her heart._

_“Let me stop your ranting right there.” Mrs. Sharpbeard stopped them sharply. “Yes, children can be trouble makers, but for many different reasons. Each child is different, but your daughter is anything but stupid. From what I’ve observed today, she is very observant, tidy, diligent, sensitive and most importantly: Far above the level of other pupils. Can your son read and write?”_

_“No, of course he can’t, yet” her mother exclaimed. “That’s why we sent him here so that he could learn it.”_

_“Well, your daughter can and do at least basic calculus.” the elder lady informed them and pulled out Harriet’s sheets from earlier, which her father snatched out of her hand.  Harriet paled, felt her heartbeat accelerate and force herself to breathe. What would her parents do? What they finally acknowledge that she could do something better than her brother? Would they be proud of her? She hoped so. But deep in her heart she already knew the answer._

_“That’s impossible.” James murmured his gaze sweeping over the sheets of paper. “That isn’t hers.”_

_“It was written by her. I saw it with my own eyes.” the teacher answered_

_“Who thought you how to do this?” Lily hissed making Harriet and her teacher jump. She wanted to tell her parents that Remus had taught her after she had begged him and the basics of calculus and with Fidji, one of the houself’s help she had advanced further. But telling them about Remus’ help would only strain their friendship with the werewolf further and he currently needed his friends more than anyone else. So she kept her mouth shut and murmured shuffling her right foot. “No one.” Her mother huffed annoyed, but it seemed that the teacher was not so easily fooled._

_“If you would sign here please then she could be tested tomorrow morning and we would have the results by midday.” she almost pleaded with a short glance at the forlorn looking girl._

_The result the next day had surprised not only her parents, but also several other personnel in her school district._

* * *

Sitting in the small, narrow room with ten simple small black and grey workstations for personnel to write reports, she diligently tipped her report about the happenings leading to the shuttle incident. It was not hard for her to remember as she simply described what she had stored in her memory. She just needed to mentally walk through her memory again and she could provide the exact time she had addressed the shuttle, how long it had taken the shuttle to report, the exact time she had informed her superior ensign and his response.

Checking the word count she hoped to not have provided unnecessary information. To make sure she mentally repeated Grice's Maxims of conversation in her mind and checked her report. In terms of quantity she had tried to be as informative as possible and to provide as much information as needed and no more. The maxim of quality was valid as well as she had provided correct information which could be backed up by her log.

The maxim of relation was also invoked as she never strayed from things that were relevant. Reading a fourth time through her report she acknowledged that she also had minded the maxim of manner and tried to be as brief and orderly as possible and she had avoided obscurity and ambiguity. And she had even been able to check her spelling. Basic was not a very difficult language, but like her native language, the spelling diverted from the spoken word in some cases. Checking her chronometer she signed her report and sent it off to the Grandadmiral, an hour before her deadline. She also had still an hour until her physical and two hours to her physical combat training assessment. Maybe she should go and get a new haircut first as she was unsure if she could hide her long hair during the two evaluations to come.

Just as she was about to log out of this station she halted and decided to find out if she could get access to the language training files. She knew Aurebesh, but was itching to learn something new and challenging.  But everything she tried it came back restricted. Even the languages. They were protected by simple binary codes and she needed permission from her direct superior to get access to them. _No!_ She was close to banging her head on the desk. There was no chance that would ask something from Ensign Mayr. He would deny her the possibility to learn, especially as she had thrown him in front of the metaphorical bus. But he would have done the same. This was about survival. But those were binary codes, which could be sliced easily. Should she risk it? On the one hand she should keep her head down, but on the other hand her brain was starved and she desperately wanted to learn a new language. Harry cracked her knuckles, took a glance to the door and straightened. She would do it. No turning back. She opened a subroutine panel on the holo screen which displayed the protective binary code and singled out the routine code which blocked her from getting access to the languages and erased it and replaced it by the code routine of an ensign.

She had learned in the academy to distinguish the codes of the different ranks and it served her purpose now. Two seconds later her log confirmed her access to the languages and brought a happy smile to her face. Browsing the language log she could barely contain her excitement. More than 3000 languages and dialects were listed. More than enough for her. Glancing at her chronometer she cursed. She still had half an hour until her physical and she should get a haircut beforehand. But if she had to walk all the way to the elevator and back, she would never make it in time. She was alone in the dataroom and she had her wand hidden in her left arm sleeve. Technically she could magically cut her hair, but unfortunately this was not a spell she was very familiar with and she did not want to run around bald headed. She could apparate. But what if the ISB had secret cameras installed? They most likely had some in here. They would realize that she was not entirely normal and she had no desire to meet with an inquisitor.

She stood up and drew magic from her magical core in her solar plexus and carefully and barely recognizably moved her left arm while focusing the word “nox” in her mind. And to her delight all the lights in the room went out, leaving her in complete darkness. She stumbled as she felt her feet give way which indicated that she seemed to have drawn a bit too much magic.  A second wave with her arm and mentally picturing her destination she felt the familiar pull at the navel and the familiar chaotic whirlwind of apparition until she landed on her feet, but in complete darkness.  The dizziness was overwhelming and she stumbled and hit her head possibly on a durasteel wall. Had she blacked out the entire ship?! The dizziness slowly evaporated and she felt a bit faint, but that was impossible wasn’t it?

 “Finite incatatem” she murmured sheepishly and to her shock all the lights went back on and she was indeed on the floor she wanted to be. 

A few meters down the corridor she ran into the person she was looking for, but she could sense the hectic frenzy, which all of a sudden was all around her. Commands were shouted, white clad troopers were running down the corridors in perfect formation and the siren for battle station was droning above her head.

“Got surprised by the dark too?” the bald man a clone wars veteran asked her and she just nodded and sadly pointed towards her hair, which had grown long again.

But the elderly man in uniform just laughed heartily again.

 “Ah. My Wookie girl is back!”

“I’m not a wookie!” she pouted, but was used to this conversation. “I have my physical in 30 minutes and can’t appear without short hair” The sound of the electric shaver made her shudder. She loved her thick, unruly black hair. Although she had inherited it from her much despised father it made her unique. Alexander had inherited their mother’s hair colour with their father’s unruliness. So Harriet had just dubbed him ‘Pumuckl’ as he had just been as childishly immature as the German TV show she had once seen at the Dursley’s house.

“There I left it a bit longer this time. About 5 centimeters. “he laughed again. “If I were you I’d get to the rank of officer as soon as possible. Their naval dress code for haircuts is not as strict as those in your rank.” he advised her and she thanked him. _Cut my hair every day or lose my soul as an officer. I prefer to cut my hair every day._ she thought.

 

* * *

 

“Generally you are fit for duty, but your Vitamin D levels are slightly lower than usual, you don’t drink enough and you have lost 5kg since you’ve been transferred from the academy.”, the blond haired doctor informed her after her physical but Harry only rolled your eyes.

“You are not taking me seriously?” he asked with a stern voice.

“No, but your conclusion was to be expected.” she answered. “I lack natural sunlight on my skin to produce Vitamin D, because I’m stuck on this destroyer and there are no artificial contraptions to counteract this. I have twelve hour shifts without being allowed eat, drink or going to the bathroom. In my so called free time I don’t really have a possibility to catch up with nutrition because of my sadistic ensign. So, yes. Doctor. It was expected.” 

“You seem angry, midshipman” he stated unfazed by her rant. “For your information. We do have solar light cabins for officers to prevent Vitamin D deficiency.”

“Great. More officers’ privileges.” Harry huffed rolling her eyes.  “For **your** information, Sir. As you can probably see on the datapad. I’m not an officer. So this information is useless for me.”

“I understand that you are a conscript and that you probably despise your service to our empire, but you should show more humility and respect towards officers.” he advised her scribbling something on his datapad. “We are not the bad guys.”

“In my book, respect needs to be earned and is not given freely, Sir.” she responded wondering how far she could go before getting arrested by the ISB. “And just coming from the core regions is not enough to earn my respect, Sir.”

 He stared at her intently, but with rising colour in his face. “We are finished here. Get out!” he barked angrily turned around and strutted away. Apparently she had struck a nerve with this one.

* * *

Having changed into black and grey training gear she arrived on the training deck to the assigned panel to wait for her “instructor”. The deck, which was located at the lower levels of the destroyer, was naturally swarming of training off-duty troopers and some who were training manoeuvres in their white gear? Why was the armour white anyway? It was unpractical. Harry had never understood that and apparently it did not protect them from anything. Several people were jogging on the running track and she longed to run a few rounds herself. Running always had a meditative effect on her as she was able to think properly during her workout. Especially, when she had her own running music list. She didn’t have proper training for a month and it would probably show in her assessment, but she would be able to hold her ground in combat.

 

“Potter? Potter, Harriet, Is that you?” Harry jumped at the familiar voice which had addressed her in English. She was standing exactly where she was supposed to be for her physical combat training and slowly turned around to a young man in private training gear, which indicated him being a stormtrooper off duty. Recognizing him she groaned. No! One of her brother’s best Gryffindor friends or goons, as she had dubbed all his “friends”, was coming towards her.  How the hell was he even here? The empire couldn’t have detected the magical world. Could they have? On the other hand there were whispered rumours of magically gifted personnel under the ominous dark Lord Vader. Whoever he was. Maybe there was some substance to it.

“Longbottom! What in Merlin’s name are you doing here!” she inquired in English knowing full well that it was forbidden to use any other language than Aurebesh.

“It is you.” he exclaimed happily stopping right in front of her. “Nice to see you.”

“Wish I could say the same about you, Longbottom.” she snapped. “Does your presence here mean that the empire has finally detected the magical community on Earth?” she asked but was surprised at his answer.

“As far as I know they haven’t. But after the Voldemort’s second rising grandma and decided to leave the magical world temporarily.”

“You are from an old magical family. How could you navigate through the advanced Muggle world?” she asked curiously.

“It was difficult, but we had Hermione to help us out and we also wanted to try a new therapy for my parent’s condition. And that was only available in the Muggle world.” he explained.

“Hope it worked.” she muttered crossing her arms while leaning back towards the cold durasteel wall.

“Not really.” he responded sadly. “Well, sometimes they seemed more lucid than usual. And that has not happened once in St. Mungos. So that was a bit of an improvement.”

“So why did you not go back once the empire took over.” she enquired. _He could have slipped back into his familiar world._

“Because my parents had made that marginal improvement and granny didn’t want to stop the therapy. We had hoped to get overlooked, but unfortunately I was conscripted. But before that I have played with the idea to join the resistance against the empire.”

Harry scoffed and turned her head away from him looking over the deck. Longbottom’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“They were out of their depth without truly knowing their enemy.  They managed to down two star destroyers and four light cruisers. And in doing so they doomed Washington, Berlin, Beijing and Moscow.  They died in the retaliation attacks because they dared to oppose the empire. They are responsible for the end of millions of lives.” she whispered remembering her shock at the retaliation attacks. She had felt each of these attacks personally somehow. She had been aware of people’s feelings for a while, but this event seemed to have been a catalyst. Before that moment she had believed that by reading their facial expression she was unconsciously mirroring their emotions, but this theory seemed off now. After it she had had to learn to protect herself from every emotion the people around her were having as she had felt it unfiltered: the cold terror of the people, their anguished pain and then all their different voices had disappeared as if they had never existed leaving a painful hole in the universe. The “resistance” formed of people from all around the world had wanted to get rid of the empire with the help of a growing planet wide rebellion.

She wanted the empire to pay for every atrocity it was committing, but so far there were only rumours about pockets of rebellion and their fleet commander had wiped out the biggest cell in Batonn where civilian casualties had outnumbered the “subversives”.  Unfortunately she had even felt it when they had died. It had been on her “graduation” day in the academy and she had felt horror, pain and coldness similar to what had happened on her planet, but at that time she had not known where the horrible occurrence had taken place. Would those pockets of rebellion eventually form a real and organized rebellion, but what would be the cost of that? How many innocents would die until then? Would she be able to help that rebellion somehow?

“Rumour has it you were part of it.” Longbottom chuckled.  “At least they tried. Don’t ever think that they are responsible for the deaths. The empire is. Not them.” he answered sternly.

“Those are rumours only!” she almost shouted angrily staring at him with blazing eyes.

“We have no other choice than to do as we are told if we want to survive this.” Longbottom said with an apologetic look on his face.

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” She huffed. “Especially as more than half of the officers here are incompetent airheads. When I go out, I want to do it on my terms not because of their incompetence.”

“Yes, tell me about it. It’s even worse among the imperial army.” he chuckled seeing more navy and army personnel gather at their meeting point. It seemed that the only person missing was their “instructor”.

She needed a change of topic. “So…” she started. “Is it true that you troopers are bad shots?” she asked him in Aurebesh. “The rumours say that troopers are incapable of hitting their target even once. Hope that none of them has one of these alarm clocks where you have to hit the target with a laser pointer to stop it.”

The tall young man mock gasped at her seemingly shocked but she could feel his amusement and he stopped himself from laughing out loud.

  _What the hell is happening to me?_ She was able to feel every little nuance of emotions in the people around her again and she concentrated on blocking them out.

“How can you ask something offending like that?” a blonde young woman in naval training gear cut in to their conversation. “Imperial troopers are the best shots in the galaxy. Everyone knows that.”

“Then where do the rumours come from?” Harry responded addressing the blond woman.

“These lies are spawning from subversives, who want to spread false rumours to weaken our glorious empire.” she insisted proudly but trailed off at Harry’s knowing smirk.

“Those lies, as you say, can only be spread by living subversives. So how come they are still alive when they had encounters with troopers?” she answered while the woman Harry instantly disliked gaped at her with a fish.

 _Merlin’s pants. Brain to mouth: Shut up! I’m so going to be investigated by the ISB if I continue like this._ Harriet thought biting her cheeks.

“Enough. Attention!” their stern middle-aged “instructor” had finally arrived and she got in line to stand attention while waiting for further instructions. This should be interesting. She may be out of training, but she had combat training for some time before the empire conquered her home planet and she planned to get rid of her bottled anger this physical combat evaluation session. And the empire loved rudeness. _Please let me fight against the blonde airhead bimbo, who clearly has swallowed every lie of the holo channels._

 

* * *

 

Commander Eli Vanto entered the antechamber to the Grandadmiral’s quarters, which served as his office, training room and sleeping quarters and private gallery. But he knew Thrawn well enough by now to know that the gallery was much more than just art or trophies. Where other officers only saw useless piece of chunk of “primitive” cultures, Thrawn was able to deduce much more about their creators. He had seen it often enough.

He had been present at the interrogation of their daring prisoners which had been able to be captured due to the quick thinking of the young crewman and as expected the tension between her direct superior ensign and her had been blatantly obvious. There were rumours that some of the ensigns had a competition called “cherry picking”, which consisted in making newly transferred female conscripts life hell, before showing them “a way out” of their misery. But it seemed that she was one of the very rare few which resisted this power trap.

As he passed through the durasteel doors to Thrawn’s office he spotted the tall, Chiss reading a report, sitting relaxed in his black chair with his right hand on his chin.

His eyes turned towards his aide and he turned the screen off.

 “Any news on the blackouts?” he asked curiously.

“Yes, and no, Sir.” Vanto answered. “The lights in the entire ship went dark, but curiously there was no power failure. Every system was working as efficiently as if the lights were on.  It just was dark everywhere. We were also unable to determine the source of problem or its origin. I’ve ordered a second sweep of the captured shuttle as it is possible that the scanning crew must have overlooked something, which could explain what has happened.”

“Mh.” Thrawn said. “Possible. We will see.”

He turned the projector on again and Vanto could see two reports next to each other. One was relatively short, consisting of two paragraphs. The second one was much longer and definitely more detailed as he could spot several time indicators.

“These are the two reports I requested after today’s shuttle incident.” Thrawn explained. “Tell me, what those reports tell you about their writers.”

Vanto stepped closer and carefully read both. “Well, one of the two is a scatterbrain and the second is overly fond of using the log.” he answered after careful examination.

“Indeed.” Thrawn smiled encouragingly. “Ensign Mayr hasn’t risen from his rank without reason yet Midshipman Potter has not once checked her log once to back up her report.”

Vanto looked back astonished at the detailed report. “How is this possible? Does she have an eidetic memory?”

“It is possible, but her file did not list anything about it. It may have been overlooked.” Now his face changed into a knowing smirk.

“But, even more interesting is the fact that after sending her report she sliced into the ship’s system. Very skilfully, I might add. Had she not sliced for the information on a low level workstation at the same time as her superior was logged in his office, it would have remained undetected.”

Vanto gaped surprised. “She did what?! What was she looking for? Should we inform the ISB?”

“Relax, Commander.” Thrawn admonished him with a hint of amusement in his voice. “She could have sliced for any information without detection, but she sliced for the training programs. Especially the language courses. She is a conscript and would therefore have needed the permission of Ensign Mayr to get access to these programs.  Her file suggests her having an inquisitive nature and natural curiosity. It seems that she is just bored.”

 Vanto nodded. He knew that conscripts were often overlooked in the empire’s unofficial hierarchy and yet Thrawn had an uncanny gift of spotting talents which would usually be overlooked. He straightened his shoulders stepping back from the reports. “What do you suggest?”

There was that knowing smile again. “Let’s challenge her with Sy Bisti.” He suggested.

“But that is not in the training program yet.” Vanto answered. Thrawn wanting her to learn Si Bisti suggested that Thrawn had singled her out to become his aide after he (Vanto) would leave for the Chiss Ascendancy. He would probably test her in the next few weeks and decide.

“No, it isn’t.” Thrawn answered putting his fingertips together.

 


	5. I'm doomed

_On a stormy day in mid-September Harriet was sitting in the open stair house, leaning with her back against the wall. Outside the sun was shining while the stormy winds drew circles in the garden as it blew the colourful yellow, red and brown leaves around. Her brother was outside with his two best friends Ron and Neville trying to fly a kite. But an hour ago her parents had received the results of her testing day which had lead to further tests and exams during the week._

_She had no idea what these exams had been but they had gradually become more difficult. Countless instructors, teachers and other personnel had tested and prodded her and she had hated it, but it had become increasingly obvious that they had been surprised by her. Her parents had scoffed at the idea that her school had extended their one day of testing into a week. They had even asked her where she had lend her books from and when she had told them they had even controlled the stocks of her closest library who also had school books in store. These had been the books that she had read additionally to those of her family’s library. Well, it had been the only distraction from reality and apparently it had helped her progress._

_Now she was listening in to what the adults in the house were discussing. Naturally Remus and Sirius were also here but so far the only thing she was able to make out was that her parents believed her to have tricked the Muggles._

_“It’s impossible.” her mother said for the probably hundredth time. “She would do anything to get more attention and those results are just ridiculous. There is no way that she is that advanced. There must have been a mix up.”_

_“Yes, I agree. We certainly haven’t told her how to read. There is no way that these are her results.”_

_She heard Remus sigh. “No, you didn’t. But I did.” he remarked and she could sense her parents surprise and partial anger towards their friend._

_“Why would you teach her how to do read? That’s what elementary school is for.” her mother asked with slightly raised voice._

_“When did you teach her?” her father asked tensely and Harriet hoped that they wouldn’t shun her favourite uncle for it. He needed their support as the ministry’s policies made it increasingly harder for him to lead a normal life._

_She detected the sound scratching and imagined that Remus was uncomfortably rubbing himself._

_“On her third birthday. She looked so sad and dejected and I couldn’t stand it.” he forced out. “You know how much she liked drawing.” she heard him smile but knew that her parents had no idea that she liked drawing.  “As a joke, I taught her the alphabet as a distraction, but she memorized it immediately and actually tried to adapt it by writing words on her sheet. I spent the whole afternoon writing letters, words and other stuff on the sheet and she just soaked it up like a swamp.”_

_“Really?” her mother asked unconvinced. “Why didn’t you tell us?” her father asked accusingly and Remus sighed again._

_“I did, but you were … to … ahm… busy with Alexander’s birthday. You must have forgotten about it.”_

_“You know, “Sirius threw in “it’s possible that she is compensating for her lack of magic.”_

_“Sirius, she has magic.” Remus countered. “She is no Squib.”_

_“No, Sirius might be on to something.” James insisted. “She has not performed any magic and it would make sense that she compensates for her incapability of doing magic. I, mean it wouldn’t be the first time. Many Squibs are like that, because they need to have an alternative for magic.”_

_Harriet sniffed as another tear rolled down her cheeks. So now she was degraded for supposedly not doing magic. She had done plenty of magic, but each time it was credited to her stupid brother. Even Remus had acknowledged that she wouldn’t have been able to destroy her brother’s birthday cake without magic, but none of the other adults saw it that way._

_“Let’s ignore those tests.” Lily suggested. “She had more than enough attention for one week. It’s time that she learnt her place and she will go back to school with Alexander. Harriet could hear her father and Sirius agree, but luckily Remus remained loyal to her._

_“Lily, that’s the worst thing you could do to her. She is too far along in her education. She will get bored to death and Merlin knows what that will lead to. ”_

_“These kind of tests are not reliable and she must have cheated.” her mother insisted angrily and Harriet could hear her stomp. “We are not wasting any money on some fancy public school only for her to drop out after one week.”_

_“And how exactly should she have cheated? What makes you think that she will drop out after just one week?” Remus asked and now it was his turn to raise his voice._

_“Have you read the papers her teacher brought at all? They tested her I.Q.  and asked some specific questions on the first day. Then they had a pause of one day where they probably set the exams up. Lily, for Merlin’s sake. She got her GCSEs this week. You both even signed the paperwork. Do you have any idea how special that is? How much red tape they had to cut through to actually let her write them at this time?  Look at the languages.”  She heard rustling of papers which probably meant that Remus was browsing through them._

_“She is able to write, read and understand them perfectly, but they mentioned that she has severe difficulties pronouncing it. That’s why she learned it from books alone.”_

_“That’s rubbish. We have books written in Roman languages in the library, but none for actually learning the language.” James insisted. “This proves that these are NOT her results.”_

_“It doesn’t prove anything, James. The public libraries do.” Remus told him “and I know that she has memberships for at least five libraries in a hundred kilometre radius and from two bigger ones in London.”_

_“That sounds nice, Remus, but it’s impossible. Borrowing all these books would have been expensive and she does not have money by herself and she has never come with us to Gringotts.” her mother rebuked his theory, but Harriet bit her lips._

_She had frequently sneaked out of the house to explore the neighbourhood and had dared to actually venture further out and in so she had sneaked out to libraries and had been told that if she read them in the library then she would not have to pay for them. Once or twice she had gone to Gringotts without her parent’s knowledge to get some money when she wanted to buy a book which she had enjoyed very much. So she had spent some days away from the stifling house and atmosphere. It had been like a sanctuary. She had been able to read undisturbed and nobody had commented on her fast reading. London was further away, but she had dared to use the floo network a few times to get to Sirius house and from there in the huge pulsating metropolis. Due to her young age she had been able to get into the museums for free and had even increased her interest in so many different things. When she had come back late at night her parents had not even noticed her absence. Only Remus had registered that she had disappeared once and he had followed her and found out about her secret “memberships” in libraries. Two years ago her brother had liked hearing stories about Vikings and his birthday had been a Wickie-themed birthday party which she had apparently destroyed when she had told all the guests loudly that Viking helms didn’t have horns and that everything in the decorations was wrong and that her brother was definitely not a Wickie. She had even compared him to Snorre.  No. She wanted to go to that public school. She would be away from her parents and maybe meet more intelligent people because her brother was getting on her nerves._

_“I’m not paying anything for that little Brat.” her father said strident, but Harriet had enough. Jumped up from her hiding place, dashed into the living room and shouted at him_

_“You don’t have to pay anything, you thunderhead!”_

_Her father looked taken aback at her brazen behavior. “What did you just call me?” he almost growled and her neck hair straightened._

_“You heard me, father.” she answered angrily staring him directly into his eyes._

_“You don’t have to pay anything except my lodging at the public school. That’s called scholarship. But it seems that this definition goes over your head.” her parents were angry at her but she had enough. They had never acknowledged her presence, showered her brother with expensive gifts while she had never received anything from them. They had not spent any money on her._

_“Have care how you speak to me little lady. I’m your father” her father growled angrily and Remus stepped in between the parents and Harriet to shield her for some reason._

_“Then act like one.” the six year old girl shot back safely from behind her uncle’s back._

_“Were you listening in to our conversation?” her mother asked with a tout voice._

_“You are talking about my future, mother. So, yes.”  she spat. “Actually, unlike you I have a solution how you can escape paying my lodging and still let me go to that public school.”_

_“You are not going to that school.” her mother insisted but the little black haired fury stood her ground. “Give me one good reason not to, mother.” her mother could not retaliate._

_“As I was saying. The school which offered me a scholarship is not far from Surrey, so I could stay with aunt Petunia and her family and go to school from there.”_

_“How do you even know about your aunt?” her mother enquired stubbed._

_“I have my ways, mother” Harriet quoted her favorite detective ominously, but the reference was naturally lost on her family._

_“That’s a very good idea.” Remus patted her proudly and she smiled at him but was still aware of her fuming parents._

_“I rather agree.” Sirius nodded and added. “The transition into the Muggle world will certainly be easier if she goes to that school and nobody will ask questions if she doesn’t show up in Hogwarts.”_

_Harriet scowled and drew the adults gaze again and she desperately wanted to tell them that she was already invisible in the Wizarding world. Hardly anyone knew that her brother had a twin. Even her parents seemed to forget that sometimes. As her gaze wandered around the living room she could see countless pictures of her parents with her brother or the three Marauders with her brother, but none of her. Her heart clenched and she fought tears again. Why could her parents not love her as much as her brother? What had she done to be treated like this? They had written prove about her advanced education and they still were unable to say even one praising word. No, instead they found fault in her supposedly not being able to perform magic. Maybe leaving her parents was a better idea. But her aunt had to agree first and she desperately hoped that she would. It couldn’t be worse than living here. Maybe her cousin was nicer than her brother. She desperately hoped so._

 

* * *

 

Great. She had one hour left to her next shift, without actually sleeping because her stupid Ensign, who had ordered her to stay attention in his shared office. He did have time to sleep, but thanks to his orders she had been forced to stay in the office under the watchful eye of the other snickering Ensigns. But now there was only one other in the room and she was aware that he was looking at her quite strangely. She was extremely exhausted. More so after her last shift and the combat training. How she was able to stay straight at the moment was a mystery to her, but it seemed that her body had already adapted in this horrific month of her service. But the combat training had been enjoyable to her minus the fellow Wizard. Although her muscle had deteriorated through her almost nonexistent training in the last month the muscle memory was still intact and she had therefore stood her ground against her opponents, but there had been a bit too much close calls. Only two others had been able to beat her in training, but the blonde bimbo had not been one of those. So she needed to build up more muscle again, but being stuck with this Ensign was infuriating. Her body ached all over and she wanted to rest and sleep. She could have sworn that her reflexes were weaker and the only thing she could think about at the moment was sleep. But she would not give him the satisfaction. He was already on his shift and he had ordered her to follow his colleagues order’s, which meant, that they would order, let her go any minute now.

One of the Ensigns leaned back on his seat and was successively roaming his eyes over her body, but she only mentally rolled her eyes as she stared at the grey wall. They could look for pray somewhere else, because she would not give into that power play.

“You know, Midshipman Potter.” she heard the balding man purr. “You could have it so much easier on this ship.” She fought back her revulsion and her retaliatory answer. But it seemed to show on her face.

“You seem to think otherwise.” he stated standing up and edging closer to her. No, she would not become their prey and she straightened her back and kept her hands clasped behind her back. Whatever this menace was trying to do she would not falter. He circled her and she could smell his revolting cologne which seemed to be the latest fashion among the Coruscanti officers. Maybe her nose was wired wrong, but it smelt like old dried sweat to her. Or they just were unable to use their refreshers properly.

He circled her further and suddenly sneaked his sweaty hand from behind over her stomach to her breast and she could feel his warm breath behind her right ear. What the hell was he doing! He was overstepping his authority! If she defended herself then she could endanger her family’s life and everything she had endured would be in vain.  His other hand roamed upwards her leg. No, she had enough! That was revolting and consequences be damned, but she could not let this continue. She slowly unclasped her hands in the back and stepped slightly to the side.

 The oblivious man continued doing it until she pulled her elbows in front of her body and quickly turned slightly and rammed it up behind her where she felt would be the specific weak spot between his breast cage and his stomach. She heard him groan surprised and hurt as she spun around she spotted that he had leaned forward and she kicked her right knee upward into his groin and heard him cry out as he fell down onto the floor. As he writhed in pain he hoarsely cursed her and at hissed at her that she would regret this. “You just signed your death warrant.”

Her heartbeat started to race as she became aware about the ramifications. She had attacked a high ranking officer and would be lucky if she was demoted again. Her family would suffer because of her. She had to pull herself together as she felt that she was close to letting her magic slip. But it was possible that the ISB had hidden cameras in this office. She hoped so. But what if the ISB did not care about such incidents? She couldn’t kill him, but maybe obliviate him, but she was not sure if she was

”At least I die knowing that I’ve kept my honor from the likes of you.” she hissed back hearing the doors open. _Shit!_  Obliviating was out of the question and she did not have the reflexes at the moment to obliviate two officers. Only her shift at the bridge would be able to safe her some time now.

“I have a shift to get to, Sir.” she mockingly bowed and raced passed the other officer who took in the scene out of the office but unfortunately stumbled into another officer and murmured an apology. She needed to reach the bridge.  Yes, she had not gotten any food, but it did not matter anyway. She would start her shift earlier to show that she was a reliable person. Maybe it could help with the uncertainties to come, although she doubted it. _I’m doomed!_   she nearly cried as tears threatened to escape her eyes. As the durasteel lift was slowly winding itself upwards towards the bridge she took deep breaths and carefully whispered a cleaning spell and hid her newly grown hair in a bun and partially under her cap. She felt dirty and helpless and two tears escaped her. No! She could not cry know. She would not give them the satisfaction of knowing that they had succeeded in destroying her life and that of her family. She pulled out a caffeine toffee and a small vile out of her hidden pocket and swallowed the revolting contents. This with the caffeine combined would help her get through her shift without falling asleep or feeling tiredness at all. It was a combination that she should not repeat very often or she could force an early heart attack.  But she was quite sure that she would get more than enough sleep in the brick after her shift. If she would be able to get through her entire shift without getting arrested, that was. Although it was highly unlikely.

As she stepped out of the lift she spotted the Chiss Commander and his aide in the command room with a few other officers. His aide shortly looked towards her direction, rose his eyebrow, picked up a datapad and back to his superior.  She shortly lingered at the entrance, took another breath to steady herself and made for her much hated pit, hesitated as she passed the ISB agent at his workstation, but it seemed that he had not been made aware of what she had done.  She stepped towards her Ensign who smiled condescendingly.

“Midshipman Potter, reporting for duty, Sir.” she said dully, but then anger swept over her as he was just as responsible of what just happened moments ago and it could be possible that he had laid a trap for her with the other Ensigns.

“You are twenty minutes early for your shift. Midshipman. Seems that you are incapable of learning the time.” he sneered.

“With all due respect, Sir.” she mocked the word ‘Sir’ and continued. “I’d rather be early then too late and a little bit of warning. Should you or your fellow Ensigns dare to overstep their authority with inappropriate behavior again, then I will not hesitate to defend myself.”

“You forget your place, Midshipman.” he hissed again but she shot back.

“So do you and your fellow colleagues in that office. If you and the others can’t keep your paws to yourself, then I will snap the wrists the next time something like that happens.” she growled lowly and added:  “Sir.”

“Is that a threat?” he enquired clearly not knowing what to do with her as she had spoken out of tune again. She knew she was in trouble, but at least she knew that she had held herself honorably. Maybe it counted for something.

“It’s a promise.” she stated staring defiantly at him but he suddenly jumped and stood attention and she turned around and did the same. Commander Eli Vanto, Thrawn’s aide was standing behind them. He almost never came down the pit. Why was he here now? Had he heard the last exchange?

But it didn’t appear so.

“Midshipman, Potter. As you are early, might I have a quick word with you?” he enquired but she saw that it was actually a command. She could feel her ensign shift behind her uncomfortably. It couldn’t be about the incident earlier, could it be. That was far below his rank and why would Thrawn’s aide want to talk with her about it. It didn’t make sense. Or the hurt Ensign had spun a much wilder story and she would pay the price now.

“Yes, Sir.” she answered steadier than she felt and followed him two steps behind him as he lead her away from the workstations and stopped shortly in front of the steps leading upwards from the pit. She kept her hands behind her back.

“Your weren’t at your barracks after your evaluations, yesterday.” he looked at her with a questioning face.  Harry gulped. So this wasn’t about her last incident.

“I was assigned to stand attention in Ensign Mayr’s shared office, because of my inability to follow procedure, Sir.” she told him and he raised his left eyebrow.

“For how long?” he enquired.

“Until about 45 minutes ago.”

“Ensign Mayr appeared punctually for his shift. You mean to tell me that you stood attention in his office alone?” he enquired.

“No, he commanded that in his absence I am to follow Ensign Patterson’s orders.”

“Well, that’s certainly unusual.” he commented shaking his head but didn’t dwell on it “Grand Admiral Thrawn read your report and that of Ensign Mayr. Yours however, was far more detailed.” he informed her. “And the Grand Admiral also detected your slicing for the language courses.”

Her heart stopped and heat was rushing over her body and she knew that she just grew red as she had been caught red handed. What had she done to get detected? Did she trigger something? Her breathing accelerated and probably looked like a deer in the headlights.  That was it. It was over. Her incidents were staggering, but she couldn’t give up. Her family counted on her.

“Sir, I.. I can explain.” she started fidging uncomfortably with her hands behind her back.

“No, need. The Grand Admiral deduced the reason and although he does not condone your actions he will give you another chance.”

 _Shit. That chance has sailed when I just attacked the Ensign._ she mentally cursed, but the alternative would have been worse. Merlin knew what that bald idiot would have done to her.

Commander Vanto handed her a datapad which she took confused. What’s that? He continued: “Thrawn has noted your interest in languages and your academy records show that you seem to have an aptitude for languages.” He tapped on it and she could see several lines of data. He therefore offers you the chance to redeem yourself by learning Sy Bisti. It’s an important trade language in Wild Space and the Unknown Regions, yet the empire does not have many people speaking it, the translator droids don’t understand it yet and the language is not in the empire’s databases.” That would have been a challenge which she would have enjoyed, but unfortunately she had ruined her second chance and visibly cringed.

"You are given the rare chance of being able to redeem yourself. You won't get another one." The commander told her clearly having seen her reaction.

Harry nodded hesitantly but whinced again as she spotted to additional troopers arriving on the bridge simultaneously with the ISB agent on duty angrily looking in her direction.

_I'm doomed._


	6. Investigation

_She had really done it. It was so exciting. Tomorrow she would start at her new school, even though she would be one of the youngest to attend the classes. And although her aunt had still reservations about her, she could live with it. Her cousin had stared verily at her ,when they had first met, but as the day had progressed he and she had been able to help him understand the math homework, he had slowly warmed up to her he had even shared one of his much coveted sweets with her which she had gladly taken and she had even spotted a smile hush over her aunt’s face and she was eager to help her. But as her cousin seemed slightly overweight she felt that she needed to help him somehow get back to his proper weight otherwise he would have problem with his health in the future. But it would certainly be difficult and she was just getting to know her aunt’s family and her aunt could take it personally if she mentioned it to her and Harriet did not want to get on this family’s bad side. On the other hand Petunia had told her that she would need to help her in the household and she would bring her to school._

_What would the new school be like? Would she finally be able to make friends? The headmaster who had phoned her aunt’s house had told her that there were two other children, just as gifted as her and she was excited to meet them. And from taking a glance at her timetable she knew that she would spend most of her day at school and only come home to the Dursley’s in the evenings._

_But her aunt had even surprised her with her own room, which she had furnished specifically for her. She had her own comfy bed, with a really fluffy pillow and a blanket, shelves waiting to be filled with books, a desk situated in front of the window, a small chair with wheels and a wardrobe.  She had been so moved that she had startled her aunt, when Harriet had broken into tears of gratitude and hugged her tightly repeating the words “thank you” over and over again. Her aunt had already done more for her than her parents, who had reluctantly bought her school supplies and moaned that she was taking valuable money away from her brother. After some hesitation she had even received a hug back. It had felt so good and she was more than willing to help her aunt for what she had already done for her._

_As the weeks had progressed, first of all proven her father wrong that she did indeed belong in this school and she had been particularly happy for the first time after Voldemort’s attack.     She had luckily or rather by accident been able to persuade her aunt and uncle to let her cousin train in a sports club at least three times a week. Well, actually she had watched Karate Kid with them on the telly and when Dudley had moaned that he would never be able to do this she had “casually” mentioned, that all he needed to do was train and eat healthy and he would accomplish it. He had then pestered his parents until they had finally relented and even though uncle Vernon complained about the new diet his wife forced on him, Dudley really started to lose weight and became stronger, fitter and even his grades went up. But the best thing was that this family had willingly taken her into their home during her time at school and also seemed to care about her. At least her aunt always asked how she was feeling. How her mother could be related to this kind woman was beyond her, but she was glad that she was._

* * *

 

Lying on the cold hard metal bench in the cell she had been thrown into after her arrest, she slowly became aware of her surroundings again. It seemed that she had indeed fallen asleep with her now numb right arm serving as a pillow. But what had woken her now? Why? Her dream had just been pleasant and she had so longed to be with her family right now. What time was it anyway? She had lost track of time completely and hoped that no matter what she still would be able to safe her family from punishment for what she did. But she had defended herself. But unfortunately the imperial navy would not see it that way. Her cousin was to good hearted to stand the rigorous training of the empire for long. That’s why she had decided to leave her life behind to protect him and his family. She owed it to them. She should be terrified right now, but for some reason she was calm. Or she was still half asleep. But for some reason she could not let her mind wander away from her family and the absence of her other crewman, who usually worked the shift before her. He had gradually looked worse over this month. But why? Had he been replaced or had something worse happened? 

“Glad you’re awake. Midshipman. Took you long enough.” she heard an annoyed voice from the door and jumped into a seating position. She didn’t want to give this ISB officer any ideas as there were still more men in the navy than women.

“So, what happens now, Sir? she enquired. “Shooting squad or cantina duty?” She had no qualms about her further chances.

The agent grinned amused:”You really don’t have the best opinion about our empire, do you?”

 _How should I have._  

"We could confirm your statement about what has happened and you are free to return to your duties.” The tone of his voice, however indicated that he was displeased with this.

“Just like that.” she could not believe it and raised her eyebrow this had to be a trap.  

“You are lucky, Midshipman. You stumbled directly into the end of our investigation of this particular officer’s shared office.”

“Meaning that you had it under surveillance and could check the recordings.” she deduced and the ISB officer nodded.

“Correct, but I will still keep an eye on your behaviour, Midshipman.  This is Grand Admiral Thrawn’s Destroyer. He is one of the best strategists this empire has to offer and everyone serving on this ship has to meet his high standards. Even the ones serving at the bottom line. Is that understood?” he asked and Harry nodded while standing up.

“Yes, Sir.”

 

* * *

 

Thrawn was sitting in his office going over the reports of this day’s arrests. He had ordered this particular investigation after several officers had slacked off in their duties and had shown clear signs of spice use, even though they had tried to hide it. Some better than others. More personnel had not performed to the best of their duties and the young woman caught up in today’s arrests had daily challenged them. According to the surveillance, she had been the only harassed individual, that had not given in and had even defied them in more than once sense. He reread the statement that she had given after her arrest and played the holovid of the hidden recording device in that office and it matched her statement to the slightest detail. It seemed that she really did have a good memory.

But that was not the only mysterious thing he had noted. He had observed that she had arrived with short hair most of the time, but sometimes she had stumbled on the bridge appearing to have short hair when in reality it had been long. Whenever she had her hair long it had shimmered as if there was some distortion in the air and he had lost sight of the long hair again for a few seconds. Whatever trick she was using to let it appear short it worked on humans, but as a Chiss he had a naturally a wider spectrum of sight, which also went into the infrared and allowed him to see things that others were incapable of seeing. Did she use some kind of cloaking technology the empire was not aware of or was it something else?

He had also noted that she had cracked one of the captain’s coded messages in her boredom on her first shift and it had silently amused him and he had decided to keep a sharper eye on her as she seemed to be one of the more intelligent humans.

Her records of basic training had been stellar and she had even been transferred to a better academy which went further than basic training, but she had still been with other conscripts. At further investigation he had found out that Director Krennic, who was known to poach talented scientists for his project, had approached her after she had successfully completed a science project, but lucky for him she had declined. He only wondered why Krennic had not forced her to come with him as only very few scientists had the luxury of declining that offer. Some of those were already “stardust” as this self absorbed director had the tendency to silently kill his scientists after successfully completing their projects in order to keep the secrecy of his main one by making the kills look like accidents.

 Thrawn had yet to receive her file on what her profession(s) were before she was pressed into the empire’s service as the empire had been slow to analyse the knowledge of her planet, which they deemed primitive. But he expected her to have interests in various fields as it was mirrored in her academy’s results. She came from one of the “newly” discovered planet in the unknown regions, which was now known for being the planet that had downed an entire fleet of Destroyers with their primitive weapons. Their biggest weakness however had been the lack of unity. Yes, there had been some unions, who had worked together and others who had opposed each other, but their lack of unity had ultimately led to the victory of two more imperial fleets. Sadly his, had not been one of them or there would have been less bloodshed. There was a recently added note of an ISB officer, that she sometimes displayed strong subversive tendencies and that the regular brainwashing, forced recruits were submitted to, had not worked at all on her. It seemed that she had a strong mind or was very stubborn or maybe both.  He pondered that he would not be surprised, if she had been part of her planets defence force. 

But he would have to be more careful with the High Command, because thirty-seven spice addicted officers had been flashed out in these investigations on his personal destroyer alone and some of those must have had this addiction before they were transferred to his fleet. The common thread that all those officers had in common, were their family ties to powerful Coruscanti families. It seemed that some in High Command had sent those failed officers to his fleet in order to avoid dealing with them. But he would sent them straight back for court martial. In their varied stages of their spice addiction they had created dangerous havoc in his fleet. Even the suicide rate among the lower ranks had risen significantly because of them. In order to have his fleet function properly he needed the best people and those thirty-seven officers needed to be replaced. Governor Price had warned him that High Command may not be able to fault his expertise, but they would certainly not make it easy for him. Especially, Tarkin was one of those, who could not stand nonhumans, but he would never openly admit it and he had not been able to fault him personally. Assigning incompetent spice addicted officers to his fleet could have potentially led to a scenario where the High Command would finally be able to fault him.

 

The door to his office hissed open and his trusted aide Vanto stepped in carrying his data pad in one hand and a small stack of something that appeared to be books in the other hand.

“Agent Colburn just released Midshipman Potter.” he informed him “And the surveillance in her cell actually indicated that she slept through her entire imprisonment” his tone had taken an amused note.

“Her locker is kept neat and tidy with few personal items, a few caffeinated sweets and mini-bottles, which after examination contain some sort of potion to boost alertness but contains no addictive substances a small toy, which has the form of a small brown  primitive version of a suitcase, a small apothecary, which indicates that she must have had medical training at some point and these book, which might interest you. He put the small stack on his superior’s desk, who carefully laid them next to each other examining the binding. Each of the bindings had different patterns and ornaments and Vanto could see that Thrawn was in his favourite element again.  He picked one of the books up and opened it carefully browsing through it, noting smaller additional sheets or pictures within them. He (Vanto) had not been able to read the text in this one as it was a foreign script, the script from her home planet perhaps, but he had admired the diligent handwriting, especially as she had no lines to write on as the paper was just blank and as some of the signs appeared different than the fluid text he assumed that it could be some sort of diary. While carefully leafing through the Midshipman’s book, he stopped at a double page with five bars consisting of five fine lines which had the same sign consisting of one loop and several swirls at the beginning of each bar. There were dots on the fine lines. Some were filled with the colour others empty. Some were connected others not. It looked rather complicated to him, but Thrawn’s glowing eyes lit up excitingly.

“Interesting. Very interesting.” he noted in his distinctive accent and Vanto did not want to disturb the Chiss, but he had one more thing to show to him before his superior would get lost in analysing the notebooks.  

He grabbed the ornamented wooden stick the ISB had taken from the Midshipman and put it next to the books. The Chiss glowing eyes turned his attention back to Vanto and his eyes narrowed looking at the stick.

“What is this?” he enquired curiously reaching out to it with both of his hands.

“We don’t know, but it was in Midshipman’s left sleeve when she was searched and she didn’t like to be parted from it. It was the actually the only time she appeared almost hysterical.  It is made of some kind of wood, but it seems that there is something organic inside it.”

“Curious.” Thrawn murmured carefully taking the long conical stick with the right hand on the thicker side and the blunt point in the palm of his hand. It was about forty imperial centimetres long, polished and ornamented with woodcarving resembling a slinging plant originating from the thicker side. Although it appeared to be quite delicate stick, Thrawn had observed that it felt heavier than it should.

 

* * *

 

Petunia gripped her tea cup tightly as she angrily sat opposite her estranged sister. Apparently she just had found out about Harriet missing and acted as if she actually cared about her daughter. But she knew better. She had not cared about her daughter all those years. Why would she give a damn about her now? The wizarding world had decided to shut itself off the normal world? Why was she not surprised? This world had brought her niece nothing but pain and anger and there had been a few close calls where she had feared for Harry’s life. Not only because she fought the evil bastard that had destroyed her life with her family, but also because of her waves of depression caused by her family situation and the lack of love she had never received but wanted desperately. She, as her aunt had tried to give her as much love as possible, but she was her aunt and not her mother.

“You actually want Harry to come back to the magical world after everything she has suffered there?” Petunia asked again more sharply this time.

Her red headed sister nodded. “Yes, her absence has been noted by some and wizards have been ordered to decide either on the wizarding world or the muggle one. Should she decide on staying here, then she must hand in her wand and her magical core is blocked, which will result in an inability to do magic and she won’t be able to get in contact with us anymore.

“I hate to break it to you, but any contact between your family (Petunia mockingly stressed the word family) has been toxic for her.”

“Well, she was the one making Alexander’s life a living hell. Perhaps she shouldn’t have been such a bully.” Lily murmured and was interrupted by a furious Petunia and very angrily Dudley.

“She’s the bully? You dare call her a bully, when your family and friends have truly made her life a living hell?” Petunia spat slamming her fist angrily on the table.

“You don’t know a thing about your own daughter!” She was no panting in anger and wanted to slam her haughty sister all that she had done to Harriet into the face, but she knew that the ginger would never understand.

“Anyway, As I was saying.” Lily continued. “There will be visits from ministry’s officials and handlers for her protection as she won’t be able to do magic anymore. From what I’ve heard she would be brought under Draco Malfoy’s protection. He kindly has offered to be hers.”

 

Petunia hissed and startled her sister:”Do not EVER speak the name of that young man in this house again. His actions cut her deeper than yours ever could. He will NEVER enter this house as long as I live.”  Dudley, sitting next to her nodded in agreement.

She had to give it to her sister as she finally did look a bit worried and a bit curious at that, but only for a second.

 

“And besides. In case you haven’t noticed. Harry isn’t here, and we didn’t have any contact with her since the Empire took her. We don’t know if she is even alive. Some of our neighbours have received notices about the demise of their conscripted child. And..” she was interrupted by the ringing of the door bell.

 

Dudley went to open the door with shuffling steps and came back with an elderly grey haired, tall, thin and bony woman with a red handbag.

“Augusta” Lilly greeted her but her voice indicated hesitation and wonder.

“Lily” the woman nodded in greeting and turned towards Petunia. “I apologize for intruding, Mrs. Dursley. My name is Augusta Longbottom and my grandson Neville, who was conscripted by the empire, serves on the same Star Destroyer as your niece and I figured that you might want to hear news about her.”

“Yes!” Petunia whispered heavy with emotion. “Please. Is she alright? May I offer you some tea?”

“What branch is she in?” Dudley enquired.

Augusta smiled calmly at the Dursley’s accepting a steaming cup of tea. “Neville discovered that they are both serving on the same destroyer two days ago, but she wasn’t happy to see him.”

“Was he a friend of Alexander?” Dudley asked throwing his aunt a dirty look. “He was.” Augusta confirmed nodding.

 “Neville is serving in the imperial army as a stormtrooper. Harriet, however is in the imperial navy and apparently a real danger magnet. He knows that she is the only conscript who has received a promotion to Midshipman by the Grand Admiral after correcting her ensign’s mistake. He hasn’t seen that incident himself, but one of the other troopers on guard duty on the bridge has seen it and told Neville.”

“She is serving on the bridge of a Star Destroyer?” Petunia asked awed.

“Not only that, but on the bridge of Grand Admiral Thrawn’s personal Star Destroyer called the Chimera. He is the only non-human officer in the entire navy and apparently a real genius in military strategy.”

“Is that good or bad for her?” Dudley enquired hesitantly.

“Well, that depends.” Augusta answered. “As a tactical genius the likelihood of his fleet getting destroyed are rather slim, but on the other hand she should not stand out. And I think we all know that she is bound to stand out.”

“That’s unfortunately true.” Petunia and Dudly nodded while Lily looked at them rather confused.

 “But apparently that’s exactly what she did, because she managed to get onto the radar of the commanding officers and even spent the duration of her shift in a cell, but was later released without any charges to resume her duty.”

“Oh, God.” Petunia choked out clearly afraid for her niece.

“Don’t worry.” Augusta soothingly put her hand on Petunias. “She is fine. He talked to her shortly before she returned to her next shift.”.

“How are you able to get in contact with Neville?” Lily seemed to have finally found her voice.

“Simple. Neville and I both have one of those mirrors where we can communicate.” Augusta puffed her chest proudly.

"But, how are you able to stay in contact with your grandson?" Petunia wondered.

 

"Well, through the joys of magic." Augusta told her. "People might believe that he is just incredibly vain, but luckily for us it can't be traced by the imps."

 

"I still don't understand." Petunia told her.

 

"Oh, please. They have two-way mirrors where they can communicate by just stating the name of the person having the other mirror." Lily stated in a bored manner. "Not many people still have those as they can easily be destroyed."

 

"At least I care about the state of my family." Augusta hissed. "You didn't even know that your daughter was gone!"

 

"How should I have known!" the red-head defended herself. "She left the Wizarding World after Voldemort's final demise and never returned."

 

 

Ensign Mayr was gone. He had been arrested and was locked in a cell awaiting court martial for spice abuse. She felt so alive and for the first time in a month well rested. Her time locked in that cell had done her good.  In the meantime, another Ensign had taken over his position and Harry felt that she could actually work with the new one. But she was still a bit scared as she had discovered that her locker had been searched and three of her notebooks were missing: Her scrapbook, her diary and her notebook where she noted everything down that came into her mind and had helped her at home at work. In two of these books she had photos and pictures of her loved ones, which she desperately wanted back and worst of all. Her wand had been taken off her before she had been locked in the cell. What if they figured out what it actually was? She didn’t want to meet an inquisitor, who if rumours were true could sniff out magically gifted. Technically she didn’t need it as she was able to do wandless magic since her early days at Hogwarts, but the soothing weight of the wand had always felt reassuring. When they had enquired what this was she had spun it to be her good luck charm, making it look as if it was a “religious” item, but what if Thrawn would figure it out? She hoped not. The data flow was too slow again and she sped it up for probably the third time this shift, but it was nothing challenging, and she hoped that she still would get the data pad with that wild space language back. It would at least challenge her. She heard a short “ping” and did a double take as the message in her personal feed came that she now had access to all imperial learning courses. Not just the language courses. Her jaw dropped. Someone just had given her permission to study without any restrictions. Seemed as if she would spend more time in the data rooms learning. She could not contain her happy toothy grin.

 Guess she now had enough material and would not get bored anymore. She wanted to check out the Mandalorian language as it was spoken in a large part of the galaxy and could prove useful in the future.   As she had not gone to ensigns Mayr’s office, she now actually would have time for herself. Maybe she could survive this. Probably not, but she dared to hope.

 

 


	7. Stalker

_Month had passed since she had been enrolled in her new school and her life had changed dramatically as she had found a temporary home in the house of the Dursley’s. Although she had spent most of the time in the school until very late in the evening she had also loved to get back to them. A few times she had been so engrossed in a book in the library, while working on a science project in the laboratory or debating in the debate club, that she had missed the lust bus back to Surrey and her uncle had to drive all the way to her school to pick her up. He had only grumbled a few times, but when she had apologized half a dozen times in the car and helped making breakfast in the morning, he forgave her._

_When Dudley had a question in one of his subjects, but mostly calculation, he often sneaked into her room with his homework and she helped and sometimes tutored him. He had actually developed a bit of an ambition of staying on top of the class. Much to the astonishment of his teacher. Petunia had once caught them, but when she had realized that they were learning she had been stunned, but it had also explained why her son had suddenly become an A student too._

_But there was also a downside to it. Dudley’s supposed friends, which Harriet couldn’t stand one bit were now quite jealous of her cousin. Their grades had not gotten better, even though Dudley had tried to help them. They had also started learning Karate after Dudley had told them about it, they had also not progressed, while Dudley was now quite close to receiving his first belt. Harriet felt sorry for her cousin who lamented that he quarreled a lot with his friends now and she also felt a bit guilty as she had gained, for the first time of her life friends of her own: Reynold and Anthony. They were both three years older than her, but like her, they had jumped classes. It seems that their school was collecting intelligent children. Both shared her love for science, but she was enrolled into more optional subjects than them as the other two because they new exactly what they wanted to do later. But Harriet could not decide and with each new subject her options became wider. She had even enrolled into music class, which the school offered, and she loved it as the school’s approach was quite unique. Each student enrolled in the music class had to learn the basics of at least two instruments, which could be expanded in later classes._

_“Are you planning to grow roots?” she heard behind her and turned around to the lanky brown-haired boy, which was about an inch taller than her. His infectious sunny smile and his mischievous brown eyes made her mirror his smile. It could not be helped._

_“Come on! We finally have summer holidays. The best thing about school anyway.” He happily jumped around her imitating the Macarena Dance._

_“You’ll get bored after a day.” Harriet reminded him laughingly while wiggling her finger. “and only god knows what you’ll come up with, MacGyver.”_

_“Nah, don’t worry, I’ll behave.” He winked. “Besides, we have plenty of homework anyway. I’ll just need one week off to soak in a decent pool of H2O in the warm Mediterranean sun, with tons of cold chocolate ice cream, fizzy drinks, fresh orange juice…” he trailed off with a dreamy look in his eyes._

_“My, Tony. Why am I not surprised, that your thoughts went into that direction again? All you can think about is eating? Seriously, he thinks about eating, and I get fatter.” Another voice joined them jokingly. Reynold wasn’t chubby, but he was a bit on the heavy side._

_“You are not fat, you’re fluffy.” Harriet said hugging both tightly.  How she would miss her two friends during the long summer holidays and she worried what Anthony would come up with in his boredom. His parents were in for some dangerous weeks. She would have preferred the school to go on during the summer holidays and she had already compiled an entire reading list, of what she was going to read. Or maybe she could prank her family. That would certainly be funny. Apparently, an evil smirk escaped her because Reynold commented._

_“Oh…oh. Whoever is on the receiving end of that smirk should better make himself rare.”_

_She just nodded. Oh, yes. Her two friends had certainly helped her getting a huge repertoire of possible pranks and should her family dare to make her summer hell again, then she would certainly not hesitate to retaliate._

_“Seems like we have a bad influence on her.” Anthony responded. “Can’t you stay with the Dursley’s during the summer holidays?”_

_Harriet bit her lower lip and shook her head. “No, the deal with my parents was that I can stay with the Dursley’s during school time and I have already spent all the other holidays with them. Not that my parents noticed, but still. They are going on holiday for three weeks on Usedom and unfortunately all the rooms in the hotel are already booked out, so that they couldn’t squeeze me in or put another bed in the booked room. I heard them trying to change the reservation, but it’s high season. After that uncle Vernon is away on behalf of his company, while auntie Petunia is on an all-girls trip with her book club and Dudley is on summer camp. The earliest I can come back to them is mid-august.” She told them with a heavy heart._

_“You could always come and visit me.” Anthony suggested. “and protect me from blowing up, my dad’s summer house.”_

_“Pretty sure it’s already too late for that.” She remarked grinning and caused Reynold to burst into laughter and besides as I’m still a minor I need a legal adult to accompany me through security and the permission of my legal guardians, which unfortunately are still my parents. But thanks anyway.”_

_“Well, I’m a bit more grounded than our flyboy, here. So, when things get tough you could come to stay with me in Cardiff for a while. My parents surely wouldn’t mind and who knows. You might stumble into a blue police box, discover that the rift is real and travelling through time is actually possible.” He now whispered imitating his favourite doctor._

_Her grin spread. He had just given her a marvellous idea as she knew that her parents did not know about Dr. who. Well, her mother perhaps, but she doubted it. Ah! Her birthday would finally be fun, and her brother was in for a surprise. Maybe she could nick one of her family’s wand for a brief time. It would certainly ease the preparation._

_“Oh, now! Ray, look what you have done!” Anthony murmured. “She looks dangerous. Now we need to worry about her house.”_

_“No need to worry.” She assured them. “I will certainly take your offer into consideration, Ray, but the only person who needs to worry is my brother. I’m pretty sure that he won’t be able to look at any angel statue without peeing his pants after his birthday.”_

* * *

 

Another month had passed, and their fleet commander had caught a few pirate ships, and apparently let them go afterwards, which seemed to not please the High Command, which had hoped for a faster result. She finally had developed a daily routine.

She stood up about two hours before her shift began, would go down to the commissary, to the hairdresser to cut her hair, take a short shower in the shared sonic refresher, went to the cantina, where she could be sure that Longbottom would pester her with countless questions, then she would go to her shift on the bridge.  

She had kept up coming earlier to her shift as it gave her the opportunity to advise the crewmen, who had made small errors the day before, how to correct it. One of the joys of her new rank. She hated it. Afterwards she would need to write daily reports for her ensigns about her shift and the performance of her fellow crewmen. She would have rather preferred to not call out their errors, but tell them personally, but unfortunately, she could not escape this. Once she had tried to make it seem as if she had missed some minor errors and had been reprimanded harshly for it by her new ensign, which she found to be just as unpleasant as the former. How that woman, who she found quite dull, yet better qualified than her predecessor, had found out that she had not missed those errors was beyond her.

The other crewmen, who she knew to be conscripts as well, were evading her as they had heard about her promotion and had no idea how to deal with her. She sensed that some of those serving with her saw her as a traitor to them. But all she had done was preventing the infiltration of their destroyer. Thrawn had been the one to promote her. She had not asked for it and didn’t want to call out their errors.

Then she would get something from the cantina, dodging Longbottom again and train in on the training deck until she would be completely exhausted and drag herself back to the vibro-shower. She would then end her day with developing her language skills as she had already worked through most of units and files found on her datapad, but so far nobody had controlled her level. She knew how the language worked in theory, but unfortunately there were very few sound files on the pad, which made it difficult to learn the pronunciation. She could know effortlessly read the script, type and write it, but only theoretically speak it. She had even dabbed into some other language files, which could be found in the imperial databases, but all those files had no phonetic script, which would have eased her pronunciation training.

And her datapad seemed to have a malfunction or the person owning before her had seemingly used it for playing a specific strategy game. Usually, when she was lying on her cot while learning Sy Bisti, as she had been ordered, a message would pop up inviting her to play that game, but she always turned it down as it would only distract her and besides gaming was not allowed officially, even though everyone knew about the unofficial card games between troopers and fleet personnel.  But she had dared to look it up and had found out that it was quite a difficult one and was mostly played in the Outer Rim territories, so it wasn’t particular popular in the core worlds.

But even though she technically had a bit more time, she gradually became more exhausted and she credited it to the fact that she had not been able to recharge herself as she had no opportunity to just be for herself. Her cot was one among hundreds on this deck. There was no privacy. Back on earth she had not exactly been a recluse, but she had needed phases where she had just been for herself. Phases where she just spent some time alone doing things which she enjoyed. She had emerged recharged and enthusiastic and had been able to stay productive for a long time. But the service in the empire was poison for introverts like her.

After finding out what had happened to the crewman working the shift before her, she also kept a close look at her other colleagues. She had been unable to prevent this young man’s suicide, but she would give her best trying to prevent another one. Slicing the ships log she had detected that the suicide rate among the conscripts was vastly higher, then the that of officers. When she had dared to ask one of the physicians in the medical bay about what was being done about it, she had received another shock. Nothing. The suicidals were considered traitors. Earth may have been primitive technologically, but at least they had tried to prevent those needless deaths. She felt that she had to do something about it.

As she stepped into the turbo lift after the two storm troopers who just had been relieved from their duty she sighed tipping her notes into the data pad. She was still missing her notebooks and dared not to get new ones out of her miniarized suitcase. Besides, she had no idea who had them. They had most likely been destroyed and she felt a slight pang at that.

“Tiring shift?” one of the troopers behind her and she groaned. He didn’t know when to give up, didn’t he? He had been an annoying pest during his Hogwarts years and she didn’t want to be reminded of them. And he was constantly triggering her memory.

“Longbottom, I swear if you are stalking me I can’t be held responsible for anything that I will do to you if you keep that up.” She told him in basic.

“Is that a promise?” the other stormtrooper asked in English as the door closed. “That’s something I would like to see. Sounds fun.” Harry rolled her eyes and turned around only to look at the emotionless helmet.  “And you are?”

“Colin Creevy.” He chirped. “You saved my life during the battle of Hogwarts.”

“Great another bloody Gryffindor. I’m already regretting saving you.” She noted dryly turning back around. “Weren’t you that annoying little fanboy following my brother around everywhere?” she asked.

“Yes, I was.” He answered. “But it was worth it.” Harry huffed and just wanted to get out of the turbo lift to get away from the two before they were triggering more unpleasant memories.

“Besides, what Neville is trying to tell you all this time is that he has been able to establish contact with your extended family through magical hand mirrors and his grandma. But you just rudely ignored the poor man.” Colin told her, and she spun around.  Was he telling the truth? She tried to calm her raising heartbeat and closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her feeling, but it seemed that Colin had spoken the truth.

“How are they?” she asked addressing Longbottom. “Are they alright? When are you going to contact Augusta again?”

“They’re fine. Just worrying about you. I’ll talk to grams in a week again. I’ll let you now when.” He told her and she nodded a thanks.

The turbo lift stopped and indicated that somebody would join them. On the one hand Harry just wanted out of the lift as the air felt stifling, but on the other hand she wanted to talk about it a bit more. Fate seriously had a sick kind of humour. The boy who had been her worst nightmare beside her brother at Hogwarts was now the only means to secretly contact her family.

The doors opened, and she spotted a familiar face and put her heels together and straightened her back to stand attention and put her hands behind her back with the datapad in one hand. Ruffling behind her indicated, that the other two also did the same.

“Sawubona (=Greetings), Midshipman Potter, At ease.” Thrawn’s aide greeted tipping something on his datapad.

“Sawubona, Mnumzane.” (=Greetings, Sir) she struggled to pronounce it.

“Very good, Midshipman.” He nodded enquiring “How far along are you with your units?”

“On Unit 149, Level 5.” She answered and Vanto turned towards her in surprise. “That’s fast. Only 51 Units to go. Any difficulties?”

“Yes, Sir. The language is very different from those I have learned on my home planet. While I can read and write it proficiently, I still have trouble pronouncing it as there is no phonetic alphabet which could aide me with it and I doubt that I could fully understand it as there are hardly any sound files among the data.”

“Ah, I see your dilemma, but that’s no problem, we can’t fix. He checked his chronometer. Report to my office at 19:00.”

“Yes, Sir.” She answered mentally cursing as he stepped out of the lift again. She had less then forty-five minutes for her dinner at the cantina and she had no idea how long she would be at that office. And he would probably assess her, and she was not prepared to be assessed.

“What language is that?” Longbottom asked. “And why are you learning it?”

“That’s Sy Bisti. A trade language of Wild Space and the unknown regions.” She told them. “Thrawn and his aide are the only to people on the ship who can speak it and as the imperial translator droids don’t know it, I was ordered to learn it to redeem myself because of my misbehaviour. Additionally, it is possible that this fleet operates primarily at the edges of the empire where knowing this language might be useful.”

“Sounds … challenging.” Colin commented. “I already struggled with basic.”

She nodded and told Longbottom stepping out of the turbo lift: “Let me know when you’re contacting Augusta and I’ll be there.” But unfortunately, the conversation seemed like she was not over yet.

 “Hold on, you know, we are adults now and we are all conscripts. So maybe you could just stop holding old grudges and forget everything that has happened. You know. Start anew.” Longbottom suggested.

Harry huffed and shook her head.  “That might be possible for other people, but not for me. Your memories fade with time, but I don’t forget. Ever.”

* * *

 

It was dinner time and he knew that he was running late, but unfortunately the meeting at the ministry had taken longer than anticipated. The new law separating the muggle and the wizarding world would take effect in less than two months and he had enquired if he would now become the magical guardian of Harriet Thea Potter, but had been turned down. He had not even known that he had competition on that front.

 “You are late.” His father, sitting at the head of the three-meter-long dark table admonished him. Sitting on his right was his mother Narcissa who smiled at him. On the other side Astoria was sitting with their son, who happily beamed at him as he took his seat.

“I apologize. The meeting turned out longer than expected.” He apologized ruffling his sons unruly, curly blond hair, which seemed to have a life of its own as it was quite untameable. Not even the hair gel, which he used helped. Apart from that the young boy was the very image of Draco as he had the same pale complexion and his grey eyes. The young boy was also quite smart for his age and he was already able to speak like an older child and was also able to read. Draco had initially just shown him the Alphabet as a joke and had been surprised when the boy had slowly tried to read words. But he was only three. Narcissa and Lucius had immediately called for a tutor and now the young boy was forced to learn at his tender age. Nobody in the Malfoy line or Greengrass line had started this young, but Lucius was convinced that he had made the right decision by forcing their marriage. Especially when Draco had found out that he had knocked her up by accident.

 Well, Astoria had been an accident. The other girl hadn’t been as he had tried to force her hand, but it had severely backfired and he regretted that he had not spoken to her after it. He had been so angry at her and after telling her that he never wanted to see her again because of what she had done, he had married Astoria ignoring the other girl’s letters that she desperately needed to talk to him.  Well, his son could have a half brother if she had not done that, even though it was so entirely out of character for her. Now that he did have some distance to what had happened back then, his concerns that there had been more that he had been unaware of grew. What if he had judged the situation completely wrong?

“Your long face seems to indicate that you have not received her magical guardianship?” his father fished for information omitting the name as everybody knew who they were talking about.

“No, I didn’t. Augusta Longbottom did.” He told them and saw his mother frowning.

“But why? How does Mrs. Longbottom know her? Wasn’t he a friend of her brother?” she asked.

“Yes, but apparently Neville Longbottom was conscripted as well and serves on the same… what do they call these things…. ahm. Star Destroyer as she does, and he has a two-way-mirror which enables them to communicate without the empire’s knowledge.

The concept that there was indeed life outside of their planet was still hard to accept for him and he knew that the others in the room had the same difficulties, but it seemed that his favourite Ravenclaw had been right in the Astronomy classes.

“What in Merlin’s name is a Star Destroyer?” Astoria asked looking quite lost and shrieked when Scorpius splashed his spoon in his soup, jumped up from his seat and dashed out of the room before any of the adults could stop him.

“I don’t know.” Draco said. “The second reason why I’m banned from being her magical guardian is because the Dursley’s have told me that they will not accept me as hers and that I’m banned from their house.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Astoria commented. “But it’s probably for the best. Merlin knows what you could have gotten in the Muggle world. And it would be way to dangerous, anyway.”

Lucius nodded in agreement, but Draco didn’t as he knew his wife’s distaste for the Muggle world, but thanks to his favourite Ravenclaw, which was unfortunately now missing, he knew that the Muggle world wasn’t as bad as he had been taught. In fact, many things had been ingenious, and he could now understand it’s fascination with it. He had grudgingly admitted that Arthur Weasley had not been wrong about it. They were amazing, but he could never tell his family that.

A second later Scorpius rushed back into the room with a large sheet of paper and draped it over the dishes.

“Scorpius, now is hardly the time for that nonsense.” Lucius admonished him with strict voice, but the little boy ignored him.

“See, that is a Star Destroyer. They are huge.” He told them pointing at his picture. Astoria and Draco edged closer to peek at the painting of their son.

Draco spotted a green and blue planet in the background, which clearly wasn’t earth and around it three dagger shaped ships hovering around it. The little boy pointed at the middle one which was clearly distinguished from the others by some sort of large drawing on its underside.

 “See, that’s where Harry is”

Draco gulped. He had not mentioned that name in front of his son. How did he know who they were talking about? And how die he now how Star Destroyers looked. Draco only knew because Augusta had explained it to him using a copy of a picture of the official communication channel of the empire.

 

 


	8. Intervention

_On the early evening, as the burning heat of the July sun kept everyone on their well-tempered houses, a young girl had withdrawn to a hidden corner of the large Potter gardens which was enclosed by a thick beech hedges and bulky white oak trees with a large canopy providing much needed shade, next to a small, gurgling stream. It seemed that in that little corner of the garden, the heat was almost non-existent. The young girl had brought a blanket and quite a lot of pillows from the living room with her. Sitting on them she was fast reading through her reading list and redoing her summer homework, while her parents were already preparing for her brother's birthday party. Although she had hoped that this time they would include her too, as she had achieved so much in just a year, there was no indication that they would acknowledge her. She had decided that she would give them another chance on her birthday. If they ignored her again, then she would go through with her well-prepared prank and her family would know then that she existed._

_She slowly became aware of shuffling steps through the dry grass. If her brother decided to disturb her peace, then she would show him what Dudley had taught her._

_"There you are." She heard her_ favourite _uncle's voice and beamed at him taking in his paleness and apparent tiredness._

 _"You look like somebody put you through the_ ringer _." She commented putting her pencil on her exercise_ book, _while leaning back against her pillow which made her lean against the strong trunk of the oak tree. "Are you ok?"_

 _"Yes, don't worry, Harry, I'm fine." He answered taking in the scene. Several books were lying beside her in two stacks, three books were lying open in a half circle around her, next to her open notebook, which appeared neatly organized with different_ colours _and very clear handwriting._

_"You don't look fine." She remarked as he joined her on the large blanket._

_"Have you heard about Damocles Belby's innovation, which I believe could help you?" she asked, and he shook his head. "No, I haven't. Why do you believe it could help me?"_

_"Well, he wrote an article in the Quibbler detailing the process of making it and how it works. He calls it Wolfsbane potion."_

_Remus grinned. "Harry, the Quibbler is not exactly a reliable news source. I'm thankful that you think about me, but my little furry problem should not concern you."_

_"Too late." She shook her head shifted one of her stacks of books and took out the Quibbler and_ leaved _through the pages until she found the article again. "Aha, there it is." She shifted her books a bit and handed it to him._

 _"I thought so too, but once in a while the Quibbler actually has_ high quality _articles. And the one in question wasn't written by any of Lovegoods, but by the_ potioneer _himself and he also explained, that he needs people for the test trial, but for obvious reasons they are_ to _scared to come out and the ministry of magic has expressed that they are not interested in funding his test trial as there are more important projects (in the minister's words) in the making. The Daily prophet even refused_ printing _his article. Considering their hatred against anything that is different it's nothing new."_

_She shook her head._

_"He explains that the potion will not cure the infected Lycanthropy, but that it will hopefully relieve the effects of it as it mostly consists of Aconite. Just read the article. It seems that he knows what he is talking about and his article reads almost like one of those published in scientific research papers."_

_The pale man took the magazine and carefully read through the article and he had to admit that the little girl was right. With each new page explaining the complex therapy and procedure, hope blossomed in his chest. Maybe there was hope after all and he would gladly take the disgusting taste for granted if it would relieve him from the excruciating pain he was forced to regularly go through with each transformation and he was not surprised that his intelligent godchild had read between the lines. Her brother was still so innocent and trusting, but not her._

_He looked up from the article after finishing it and saw her frowning at one of the books with her pencil ready in her hand._

_"Thanks for the info, little one. Mind if I keep it?" he asked, and she shook her head. "No of course not. That's why I saved it for you."_

_"Are you doing homework?" he enquired, and she wiggled her head. "Not, exactly. I've already finished it in the first week of the holidays. I've already_ went _over it three times. I'm reading this out of curiosity."_

 _"You are doing calculation out of curiosity?" he asked_ rising _his eyebrow unbelievingly pointing to her notebook. "What's this anyway. I've never seen anything like it." he murmured._

 _"Oh, it's fantastic. These are called vectors and with_ it _I can calculate pretty much anything. It's so thrilling, but this is only the basis and I can't stop learning about them. These exercises are just calculations using two dimensions. I can't wait to rotate the forms and calculate in three dimensions. "_

_"Sounds difficult." He murmured not quite comprehending what in Merlin's name she was talking about._

_"Not really. Did you know that the Muggles have a saying about magic, which is actually a quote from Arthur C. Clarke?" she told him clearly in her element._

_"No, what do they say about magic?" he_ enquired _curiously, and she cited happily._

_"They say, that magic is just science that we don't understand yet and when you think about it, this kind of makes sense. I mean, when we are using a spell, something happens that can surely be measured and just because nobody has merged real science with magic, it doesn't mean that it can't be done. Wizards take so much for granted and do not even realize what potential is out there. Just think about the endless possibilities when wizarding and muggle medicine is combined. Combining Muggle technology with magic could be the solution to our energy problems. We could get rid of fossil energy and work on renewable energy. Thus, saving our planet. We have so many possibilities, we can use to make the world a better place, yet we are not doing anything."_

_Remus chuckled. "I see that your school had a significant impact on you. Do you miss it, already?"_

_"Of course, I_ do. _" Harriet answered her facial expression becoming guarded again._

 _"Not having school is horrible. I'm bored. There isn't enough to do and my best friends are probably bored too. I would have preferred if I didn't have holidays so that I could progress further and stay away from this hellhole. But_ instead _I'm forced to stay here until the Dursleys come back."_

_"Oh. Come on. It's not so bad here. The weather is wonderful, the manor is large, and the gardens are huge and well kept." He tried to make her see the beauty of this place, but she shook her head._

_"It's only superficially beautiful, but it doesn't feel like home or what a home should feel like." Her voice wavered a bit and he saw her fight back tears and although he had suspected that his sensitive godchild was feeling sad, he now had the confirmation, that her seemingly uncaring and aloof appearance when she interacted with her family was a façade, that she kept from seeing her hurting. That's why she had fled the house and literally built her own nest of pillows. As he silently observed her fighting back her tears he could see that she was sitting slightly bent forward rubbing her the fingers of her right hand above a spot just above her heart._

_"Well, then. How should home feel?" he queried._

_"I don't know." She started. "It should be warm and welcoming. With a loving family, who loves you unconditionally, who's there for you when you are plagued by nightmares,_ who's _happy with you when you achieved something, who just cares and doesn't forget that you exist. Basically, everything my family is not. But at least I still have the Dursleys."_

 _"You also have me, my little wolf_ girl. _" Remus told her ruffling her hair._

_She sniffled and quickly wiped away two escaped tears and massaged her specific aching above her heart again. She hated that he had seen her like this._

_He sighed. "Harry, your parents do love you. Ahm, you know they just have a lot on their minds, with Alexander. It won't be easy for him when you-know-who will resurface."_

_Her facial expression changed as her lips turned into one thin line as she narrowed her eyes and focused them at him._

_"Nope, don't make excuses for them. Yes, he will have to face Voldemort again and in that case, I'm glad that it won't be me, but he does not grasp the consequences and he probably never will. I'm not worth anything to them and if they would really love me they would be able to show it. They wouldn't even realize if I were gone."_

_She balled her fists. "He supposedly is the chosen one (she mocked the word), but nobody was with us when Voldemort attacked. Nobody knows what has really happened that night, only that he has been vanquished. How can the old geezer say that it was my brother, who vanquished him?_ Most _obvious answer is because my brother is a boy and I'm just inconveniently a girl. Maybe it was us together or mum's protection spell, she cast before losing consciousness or some sort of protection that we are not yet aware of." She ranted breathing hard. "And why was he after our family? Neville was also born in late July."_

_Remus had asked similar questions several times already, but Dumbledore always had an answer to everything._

_"I see you've spent thinking about this quite for quite some time now. Look, I understand your frustration Harry, but if I remember correctly Dumbledore examined you both and only your brother had been marked." He pointed at his front where her brother had his famous scar, but Harriet scoffed._

_"Well, he didn't examine us well enough then. Hate to disappoint, but Alex is not the only one, who received a scar that night. Hurt like hell, not that anyone noticed. Not even dittany helped for the longest time" She turned her head, but her long curly dark hair away and showed him a faint white scar hidden behind her earlobe._

_Remus breath hitched as he spotted the whitish scar in the form of a V behind her ear._

_"Do Lily and James know about it?" he asked hoarsely, and Harriet shook her head. "No, they were too preoccupied with dotting on my brother. I tried to tell them, tell them how much my head pounded each night, but they never listened and kept ignoring me."_

_"Who gave you the dittany then?" Remus enquired the girl just shrugged. "Kreacher. I just remembered how it looked from one of the books and asked Sirius'_ house elf _for some, which he thankfully provided."_

_The way his godchild fiddled with her hands told him that she must have omitted something._

_"Have you told Lily and James how you feel about it all?" Remus asked wondering how he could help her and her family._

_"How." She huffed angrily throwing her hands in the air. "I never get their attention long enough to start a conversation. The only way they react to me at_ all, _is if I destroy something of Alexander's or something that is precious to them. I even had to blackmail them into signing my papers."_

 _Remus wrecked his_ mind _how he could help her, but he would need some help. James and Lily had changed considerably since Voldemort's attack and they needed to know about her scar. He would need to enlist Sirius help. Then it occurred to him, what she had just told him._

_"You blackmailed them?" he enquired, and Harriet smirked knowingly and seemed to be proud of herself, which sent shivers down his back._

_"I only insinuated that I've gathered enough "dirt" about them, which I would_ sent _straight to the Daily Prophet and which would threaten_ their _and especially Alexander's future."_

_"And?" he prodded. "Do you have something on them?"_

_The dangerous glint in her eyes grew._

_"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. I will disclose this information for the time being, even to you. Showing my hand would not be a smart move." She answered, and Remus shivered even more as he had to remind himself, that the girl would_ be only celebrate _her seventh birthday in a few days. What if Dumbledore had been wrong? She was ridiculously smart._

_"Oh my, you sound positively Slytherin." He murmured shaking his head and he saw her rolling her eyes._

_"Just, because I'm forced to be cunning, does not mean that I'm a Slytherin and should I ever go to Hogwarts, there is only one house I want to get_ in. _" she informed him._

_"Gryffindor?" he enquired in hope, but she shook her head._

_"Nope, Why would I want to be in a house of irresponsible thunderheads? You're the exception to their rule of course" she added quickly making Remus chuckle._

_"So not Slytherin and not Gryffindor, then, hm? That only leaves Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. You are hardworking and fair, but I believe you want to be a Ravenclaw. Am I right?"_

_She nodded. "If I must go there, then yes. Do you know if there is a possibility that I could just write my OWLs and_ NEWT's _without actually going to Hogwarts? I don't particularly fancy staying in the same school as my brother and his braindead goons and I've already memorized every book inside our library."_

 _Remus frowned. It seemed that she was developing_ a serious jealousy _, maybe even hate against her brother, which might become dangerous in the future. Something had to be done or there would be a catalytic event for the worse, but maybe her not going to Hogwarts was one possibility to prevent that from happening. But on the other_ hand _there was so much more to magic than what could be found in books. So she would need a wizarding education._

_"Well, there are some cases of wizards or witches being home-schooled, but there must be a good reason why they can't attend Hogwarts, like very bad health or in my case my 'little-furry problem'. Normally this must be agreed to by the parents, headmaster and at a simple majority of school governors."_

_"So, theoretically it could be done. How many governors are there?" she mused rubbing her chin in thought._

_"The Hogwarts Board of Governors consists of a group of twelve wizards. If I'm not mistaken Lucius Malfoy is the current chairman." Remus answered and frowned at her growing smile. Maybe giving her this information hadn't been his best idea._

_"Lucius Malfoy, hm? That's good to know."_

_"Harry, don't even think of getting in contact with him! He was a loyal Death Eater. He is not to be trusted." Remus implored. "He is cunning, ruthless and a formidable duellist. Do not underestimate him. He may have been spared_ Askaban _because he supposedly was under the Imperius Curse, but everyone knows that he fancies the Dark Arts. Harry, Please, don't even consider going to him. Please." He begged her. The white blond Albino would surely use her for gaining valuable information on her family and use it against them._

 _"As if. I was only saying that it was_ an interesting information _. Doesn't mean that I will actually go that far." She answered but her wheels were turning as she stored away that information for later._

 

* * *

 

Harry was finally free after her shift and her tutoring by Commander Eli Vanto. It had been the third time she had been required to report to his office where he went through some units with her while she was forced to stand attention and answer his questions using Sy Bisti and he would often correct her pronunciation. But she had gotten better at understanding it and even at speaking it.

He had told her that she still spoke with some accent, but that she would get better eventually. The questions she had to answer were not just about the language, but he used the conversations to quiz her about quite a lot of things.

When he had discovered that she was not that well read about history of the empire and history of the republic she had received additional "homework" but had sparked a heated discussion today that could eventually get her in trouble.

Reading through the history units she had found them terribly lacking as they portrayed only one side and sounded more like something a propagandist had spitted on paper or files, she had not found any other sources.

Using logic she had found several "plot holes" in the empires narrative, which only confirmed her suspicions that the history she was forced to read was incorrect. One of the plot holes was the supposed betrayal of the Jedi and she could not help but feel that something was amiss. Her feeling told her that the Jedi hadn't betrayed the people, but they would certainly have been a danger to the current administration.

Which was probably whey they had been wiped out. She hadn't told Commander Vanto about her suspicion, but he had probably gotten the gist when she had told him that history was written by the winning party in a war. That didn't mean that it was the truth.

As she lacked knowledge about battle naval tactics although they had brushed this in a class in the Academy, she was also forced to study Clone Wars Battles additionally to the languages and the history data on her pad. Why she had to do this was beyond her. But the worst thing she had found out in today's session.

She had finally dared to ask the officer if he knew what had happened to her personal belongings, which had been taken from her before her incarceration. He had been surprised at her asking about it and had obviously fought a grin and after a short pause he had informed her that her personal belongings, which were still missing from her locker, were probably still in Grand Admiral Thrawn's office. To say that she had been shocked would have been an understatement. She had felt the blood drain from her face and her knees had almost given way, but luckily, she had caught herself in time.

What could the Chiss possibly want with her note books and her diary? She was neither a person of interest nor high enough in rank to be of interest to him. She was just a lowly Midshipman. The ISB could have been interested in them if they were able to decode it, but why their Fleet commander? And how had he gotten them in the first place? And yet, he apparently had them all this time. She doubted Thrawn could read them, as the different scripts of Earth, which she had used in them were not even in the empire's databases. And the vast amount of languages spoken on Earth, which was called Terra by the Empire, were quite unusual for the empire. And it was unlikely that any language of Earth would ever make it into those databases. Her notebooks and her diary would be useless to him. Maybe he had just forgotten to give it back. That had to be it. She could not think of any other reason why she had not yet gotten them back.

Though, she shuddered at the thought that the photos and drawings of her loved ones would be scrutinized by the scary commander of the fleet. These photos and drawings were too personal and should not be in any other hands than hers.

But did he know what her wand was? She had worked hard to make it seem like it was a good luck charm and religious item, but would they fall for it? Vanto had called it a stick and not a wand. She just hoped that they would not figure it out otherwise she could kiss her life goodbye. But what really made her angry was the fact that because of her sessions with Commander Vanto, she had missed the first scheduled "mirror call".

Neville had informed her the next morning that they are fine and that he had been ordered to tell her that she should be careful and that they loved her very much. She was at least grateful for that and lucky for her, Longbottom had told her again that he would keep his distance, except for telling her the time of the next scheduled "mirror call".

She had no idea what had changed his mind as he had been too persistent before. She, however, suspected that one of the Dursley's might have revealed her "superpower" to him. At least the Dursley's had always positively named it that, but she sometimes considered it a curse. Especially as there was a medical term for that condition. A medical term for a just a handful of people who had it on Earth.

Harry reached her deck, changed into her training gear, but something felt off. She could not put a finger on it, but it was more her internal instinct, that told her that something was not right. She closed her locker and carefully looked around, looking at the five storey bunks and cots going endlessly to the right. Nothing seemed amiss. Some people were already sleeping at odd angles in the narrow bunks, others were sitting clustered together in small groups, playing, gossiping, some cots were empty, but neatly made as regulations ordered it. She turned to the left and observed the bunk row to her left.

Her breath hitched. On one cot to her left on the fifth upper row a young female with brown hair and light skin colour sat at the edge looking down. But she had obviously torn the sheets and created a sling which she now had around her neck.

Oh no! Not on my watch! Not another one! Harriet thought with racing heart. She could not mess this up. She needed to stay calm. She took a deep breath not leaving the suicidal woman out of her sight. She had not jumped and was clearly struggling with herself. So, there was still hope that she could prevent it. On Earth she would have sent someone to get help while stalling the suicidal, but knowing how things were handled here, the responsibility would fall to her.

"Don't do it!" she shouted upwards, stepping towards the young woman looking up. Some of the groups around fell silent.

"Go away!" the woman shouted at her with wavering voice hugging herself, while her feet were dangling in the air. To far in the air for Harry's taste. If she slipped she would be dead.

"I won't do that." She responded keeping her voice calm. "I'm Harry. What's your name?"

The young woman hesitated and responded mumbling "Baila." and Harry had almost not heard it, but she luckily was focused at her task at hand.

"Hi, Baila. That's a beautiful name." she remarked sincerely. Some of the bystanders were slowly etching closer to the scene and Harry did not like it one bit. She needed more space and not too many bystanders.

"Baila. May I come up to you?" she asked calmly. She needed to talk to her ,one on one, without curious bored onlookers.

"Stay where you are!" Baila shouted etching a bit forward and Harry ground her teeth. "Or I'm going to jump." She threatened.

Harry took one step back and gestured with her palms turned upward.

"Alright, Baila." She started again. "I understand that this situation is difficult, but you should know that you are not alone."

"Of course, I'm alone." Baila answered with tears streaming over her face. "We're all alone. Everyone for himself. Nobody cares about the other."

"I understand that you feel that way, Baila." Harry stated with soothing voice. "But you are not alone in this. I'm here for you. Do you hear me. I'm .here . for. you."

The other woman gulped and hesitantly nodded while tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Ok. Baila. I'm here for you." Harry repeated, "and I just want to talk with you." She paused shortly. "But I can't do this from down here. You deserve it, that we talk eye to eye." she implored her eyes never leaving the other woman's brown ones. Baila was breathing hard but it seemed that she was listening intently to Harry, who went on.

"May I come up to speak with you?" Harry asked. "You have my word. I won't try anything. I just want to talk with you. Ok?"

Baila continued breathing hard but nodded with tear-stricken face. "Ok."

"Ok. I promise that we will just talk. Can you promise me that you won't do anything to yourself without talking to me first?" she asked calmly but kept her eye contact.

"Mh." the brown-haired woman mumbled.

"Really?" Harry coaxed? "Do you promise or are you just saying that because you think I want to hear it?"

"I promise" the other one ground out and nodded.

"Thank you Baila." Harry smiled warmly at her.

"I'm now going to climb up to your bunk." Harry stated, "but could you do me a favour first? I won't be able to get in if your sheet is still around your neck and around the bunk post with its other end. Could you, just for the duration of our conversation, remove the sling from around your neck, please?"

Seconds trickled by and cold sweat was trickling down her back. Maybe she had gone too far asking for this.

There was still silence from the suicidal young woman… until…

"Oh, come on. Boring! Jump!" an annoyed male voice shot out from among the gathered crowed and Harry wanted to wring this man's neck, but she could not show violence now. It would destroy every little bit of rapport she had built up so far.

"Coward!" another voice rang out.

"Silence." Harry's voice thundered over the taunting of the bystanders making them jump and silenced them immediately and only hoped that none of higher rank was among those she had silenced, or she could be dragged away.

"Baila. Please, don't listen to them. You gave me a promise." She addressed her with all the caring she could convey in her voice.

Baila still breathing hard had opened her arms which were now gripping the self-made sling and her gaze wandered back and forth between the crowed and Harry until it rested on Harry. She gulped hard and with that took the sling off her shoulders and let it next to her.

Now it was on Harry to take a steadying breath. She had built some trust and would now have to work hard to prevent her from committing suicide and if she had to use wandless magic. But magic would be her last resort.

"Thanks, Baila." She smiled calmly. "I'm now coming up."

 


	9. Assignment

_It was early afternoon as troves of guests were trickling in to the event of the year. The lavish birthday party of the boy-who-supposedly-had vanquished-the dark lord. The vast gardens, enclosed by a high fence and beech hedges was adorned with colourful garlands and other barely visible chains of light which would spend light after sundown. Just as Harriet had predicted her family had not yet acknowledged her birthday and she had set out to complete several tasks to ensure that her parents would never forget that it also was her birthday as well._

_Furthermore, Sirius had transformed into his other persona Padfoot to greet the unsuspecting children and their families and had left his wand behind on the kitchen counter. Suffice to say, that the wand was not there anymore as Harriet had seen her chance to perfect her pranks._

_She rounded her corner and saw how Sirius was kissing and cuddling Amelia Bones in his dog form and seemed to enjoy it immensely, while Remus was standing uncomfortably in the doorway without knowing what to do as he could not give his friend away to a fellow colleague._

_“I had no idea that the Potters had such a lovely dog.” She gushed partially squatted down and laughed as the large black dog was happily rubbing his head against the woman’s chest._

_“That’s no…” Harriet started yet stopped as she suddenly got a brilliant idea._

_“Oh, yes he is quite a lovely dog.” She concurred, and Sirius happily barked at her as if speaking in agreement. “But…” she answered staring her godfather in the eyes with a wicked gleam in her eyes. “We’ve been meaning to de-sex him actually as he is quite randy and jumps anything that moves. You wouldn’t know the spell for that, would you?”_

_Sirius howled and crawled backwards from Ms. Bones and away from Harriet with his tail between his legs as fast as he could, throwing a quick look at his friend standing in the doorway, who was coughing and hiding a grin behind his hand._

_“Sure, I do. Yes, I see castration really is better for some dog breeds.” Amelia concurred turning towards Sirius was now desperately twisting and turning to get out of the room without losing his precious parts or revealing that he was an unregistered Animagus. He could lose his job for that and serve time in Azkaban and Remus seemed to enjoy his predicament just as well._

_“Perhaps we should ask Lily first if they still want to de-sex their dog?” Remus finally cut in freeing his friend from the delicate situation and Amelia nodded. “Of course. I wouldn’t do anything without her permission.”_

* * *

 

_“Lily, we have a problem.” James rushed back into the house and addressed his busy wife as Sirius was desperately looking for his wand and Remus was playing a round of chess at the kitchen table. He had observed that this birthday Harriet had not evaded her parents and mad sure that she was present, but nobody of her family had addressed her. Neither her parents, nor her brother and Sirius had scolded her to never repeat something like before again, but she had just told him, that she won’t promise him anything. Especially as the day was not yet over. The way she had phrased it with a specific intonation made Remus shiver as she seemed to have planned something and as she saw her dishevelled father enter the kitchen, her face was far to smug._

_“What do you mean with: We have a problem.” Lily asked him, huffing annoyed._

_He uncomfortably scratched his hair. “Ahm, yes, well, see, ahm. Something with the invitations must have gone wrong. We have about 50 more guests than anticipated and you’re not going to like who they are.”_

_“Alright, I bite.” Lily said facing him. “Did they have invitations?”_

_“They did. I checked it myself.” James answered angrily. “But we now have former death eaters and their spawns attending our party and they could influence Alexander. I really don’t know how they could get invitations.”_

_“That’s not good, but we can’t risk an incident. That would be bad press.” Lily tried to rationalize wiping sweat of her front._

_Remus listened in to their conversation and observed his godchild further who seemed to do the same and her smirk was worrisome._

_“Queen takes knight. Checkmate.” She ordered the piece and Remus blinked. She had just beaten him in just four moves. Maybe he should let her play against the Weasleys’ youngest male, who was known to be quite well at that game. While he mentally checked her moves again she turned around and addressed her parents, who turned around in surprise._

_“Well, if you two could just stop squabbling like little children, then you might be able to turn this situation into an advantage. But it seems that you are too Gryffindor to actually realize it.”_

_“Did you create this mess?” James asked her to step closer to her, but she did not flinch._

_“How would I have been able to accomplish that?” she asked innocently clasping her fingertips together. Too innocently, Remus realized._

_“I don’t know your guest list and quite frankly you never cared about me having birthday too. So why should I care about Alexander’s huge party.”_

_“Well, he vanquished Voldemort, therefore he is entitled to have one.” James defended himself, but Lily seemed a bit more pensive._

_“Says who? Dumbledore?” Harriet shot back jumping on her feet. “The meddlesome old fool, who loves to stick his overly large nose in other people’s lives without caring about the devastation he’s creating? Why is nobody questioning that loon?”_

_“Harry, that’s enough.” Lily ordered trying to silence her daughter, but she was not finished._

_“No, mother.” She spat. “I’m not finished. Why does his brother Aberforth hate him? Why and how did his sister die and what was his connection to Grindelwald before he duelled with him? Nobody knows, and nobody seems to care and yet you have corpses plastering his past.”_

_Her parents frowned at her. “What in merlin’s name are you talking about?” James asked her accusingly. “How can you even think about smearing his name? Do you have no shame?”_

_She pointed his index finger at him. “You do realize that you sound like a member of a sect or brainwashed individual. For your information. Dumbledore is acting outside of Muggle or Wizarding Law, which makes him a criminal.”_

_“Harriet, the ministry is corrupt. You wouldn’t understand.” Lily cut in, but her daughter only rose her eyebrow._

_“Then why are you not doing anything? It’s peace time, isn’t it? Yet, you sit here complaining and whining about the ministry being corrupt, when you comfortably sit on your backsides without even trying to change it.”_

_“The discussion is over!” Lily stopped her. “Now, behave and don’t make a mess of Alexander’s party.”_

_Harriet scowled. “So, it’s Alexander’s party. Not partially mine?”_

_“No, your father explained why, earlier.” Lily huffed, and Remus winced. Did they not realize what they were doing to their daughter? And he remembered her threat from the day before._

_“Well, enjoy the festivities.” She grinned sheepishly adding. “as long as you can” and swept out of the kitchen with Sirius wand hidden in her pocket and she could vaguely hear that Remus tried to reason with her parents on her behalf._

* * *

 

_Remus observed his godchild during the games of the parties and he didn’t like what he was seeing. She was mostly ignored, laughed at or harassed by her brother and his friends and once or twice he had intervened to the annoyance of Sirius, who had not seen the entire picture.  But now she was closely interacting with potentially dangerous families and it seemed that the Malfoy’s and especially their son had taken a liking to her. He had used his better hearing to eavesdrop on her and he was surprised that she was talking about private libraries and … Hogwarts with them. So far, there was nothing dangerous about their conversation._

_“But you’re the chair of the board of directors. So, it is possible to skip years?” she asked, and Remus finally realized why she had invited them. All the unexpected guests where somehow connected to one of the school governors. He chided himself for mentioning them the day before as it seemed that she had invited them last minute. But to what end? Was she really that desperate to not go to Hogwarts? She could always go to a different wizarding school. Had Narcissa Malfoy just invited her to visit her and Draco? They did not waste any time drawing his godchild to their side. He needed to step in or the entire situation could become dangerous for her. Malfoy’s son, which seemed to be the same age as Harriet. pulled on his father’s sleeve and asked if he could go and get some of the birthday cake and just as his father was about to nod, Harriet cut in warning him to not eat it._

_When Lucius enquired why, she just shrugged her shoulders and murmured that her brother had one coming for being mean to her._

_Remus breath hitched. Had she spiked the cake with something? Was that why she had spent so much time in the kitchen, which was quite unusual for her when her family was in there as well._

_“We appreciate the warning.” Lucius Malfoy had smirked and locked eyes with his wife. “Are there any deserts which are safe to eat?”_

_“Naturally, only the birthday cake is riddle but the muffins and the brownies are safe to eat.” She informed them and Narcissa enquired again. “Riddled?”_

_Remus looked to the buffet table and saw the horde of children minus Luna Lovegood, who was strangely dancing with her hands beside her head as if in trance gorging themselves with the cake until…_

_Suddenly a child screamed out in terror and began spitting the food on the grass. The screams quickly grew more desperate and horrified, some of the children were whimpering and the adults were rushing to the scene seeing what the problem was. Chocolate cake with red and golden icing on it was suddenly riddled with long, thick, long brown worms, bugs and maggots which where trying to escape the six-storey cake._

_Lily and James where flabbergasted as they could not explain what just had happened and tried to do damage control, but the other children stayed clear of any other food._

_Alexander, however broke into tears and Harriet felt a tiny bit of shame, but only a tiny little bit. Alright, maybe she had been a bit too mean. Especially, as he suddenly turned around and turned towards her as she stood relaxed and observed the entire drama with happy eyes._

_“Harriet!” her father angrily thundered. “What have you done!”_

_“Ah, now you realize that I’m here too, father. Well done. Took you long enough.” She responded mockingly smirking at him as his face turned into an angry shade of red._

_“You accuse me of doing that, but do you have any prove? How should I have done that? I was nowhere near that bloody cake and you told me not to touch anything of Alexander’s.”_

_“Stop making a scene and go to your room.” Her father ordered ignoring her protests, while Lily tried to do damage control and vanquished the cake to the kitchen, checked the other sweets and apologized to the guests and asked the children to take some of the other sweets._

_“Alright, father.” Harriet smirked. “but this day is not yet over. Perhaps you and mother should reflect on your behaviour otherwise there could be more surprises in store for you and Alexander and you know how much he loves surprises. Aut inveniam viam aut faciam. (=I shall either find a way or make one.).”_

_“What did you just say?” James asked stunned. “Did you just threaten me?”_

_“Do keep up, father. It’s Latin.” She answered him. “It’s a promise.” With that she turned and strolled back towards the house._

* * *

 

Harry had just been relieved of her very long and uneventful shift on the bridge, but she could not help but wonder if the shift had seemed this long because she hadn’t slept the last two days due to several things: Keeping Baila alive and collecting evidence. So far, she had been able to keep Baila from killing herself, but she also checked on her before and after her shift and had long talks with her and she had made the other woman promise that she would not try anything to harm her before she had not talked with her. Baila Panaká, was her full name and she was a native of the planet Naboo. The planet Emperor Palpatine was from and naturally her parents were apparently very loyal to him. Baila had told her that her father used to be in Naboo’s defence force and her mother Sabé used to serve as a handmaiden to the apparently most beloved queen their planet had ever had. Her family from her mother’s side even had very distant relations with her apparently. But Baila had never been able to meet their ambitious standards although she apparently looked rather alike their role model. They had wanted her to get into the much-coveted places of serving as apprentice legislators, but after her uncle’s gruesome murder at the hands of a partisan group answering to Saw Guerrera, the seats had been grabbed by more powerful families.

When her father had come under scrutiny for supposed bribery, her family had forced her to change her career path and to serve the empire as a lowly technician to prove their family’s loyalty to the empire. Baila had never wanted to serve the empire in such a function and Harry could see why. The other girl was rather clever and sensitive, and she reminded her much of her cousin. The other woman’s self-esteem had already been rather low and with the constant harassment of her superior officers she had finally snapped but Harry worked very hard to get her away from her suicidal thoughts and she had even warned the person who had interfered and almost botched her attempts to save the young Nubian, that if he ever interfered with her again, then he would regret it. He was probably nursing a sore throat and blue bruises now and would remember to keep his mouth shut the next time she tried to save another suicidal and there were bound to be some more.

* * *

 

Thrawn’s office.

“Agent Colburn is very close to putting Midshipman Potter back in the brick.” Eli Vanto informed the blue skinned Chiss while entering his office.

“Really?” Thrawn amused. “Why?”

“She openly attacked another Midshipman from the technical engineering division. But the reasons for this are still unclear. Agent Colburn is investigating and questioning witnesses. As the cantina was quite full there are quite a few.”

“Did you see the altercation?” Thrawn asked with mild curiosity.

“No Sir, I didn’t” Vanto answered sighing. “But she certainly has managed to be the talk among her peers. Some say that she is a lost cause as it happens among some conscripts, who are unable to come to terms with their imperial service.”

“Do you believe her to be a lost cause?” Thrawn asked him and Vanto suspected that the Chiss was testing him again.

“I honestly don’t know, Sir.” He told him. “She seems rather angry sometimes even though she tries to hide it, questions everything, shows contempt to her superior officers from what I have observed and if her speed at picking up Sy Bisti is any indication she is rather intelligent. Conscripts are usually only angry in the beginning of their service until they realize that there is no way out and come to terms with their service, but she seems to not have progressed to that point.”

“I agree.” Thrawn nodded. “She is rather unusual. Very stubborn. I saw that you assigned her additional reading material on history and clone wars battles. Did you find her knowledge insufficient?”

“I did, but that’s where the fierce discussions started. She handles the assigned history with disdain as she believes it to be flawed and incorrect. Well, she did not phrase it directly like that, but told me that history is always written by the winning side of a war, which means to her that it doesn’t necessarily have to be the truth.”

“Interesting.” Thrawn murmured more to himself.

“And she named a least six ‘plotholes’ in the empire’s historical narrative but insinuated that there were more. She is walking a very fine line between argumentation and insubordination.” Vanto answered. “But she certainly is trouble.”

“Yet, there is nothing in her file that suggest that she would attack a fellow officer without reason.” Thrawn pointed out opening her file. “The first time she attacked one was in self-defence and in closed quarters. Attacking someone in open in the cantina is something else. She has dozens of witnesses and countless officers and as you pointed out earlier, will be this weeks talk on the ship. If she knew who she wanted to attack, then why did she choose to do so at such a public location?”

“I hadn’t considered that.” Vanto admitted. “You think she choose to do this in the cantina. Did she want to make a statement?” Vanto doubted that she could make a statement or was it a warning, that she was not someone to mess with. He had seen his fair share of bullying during their time in the Royal Academy. Especially towards Thrawn, but she was a conscripted Midshipman. Why would she make a statement like that? Especially, as it was bound to get her in trouble.

“Perhaps.” Thrawn answered. “Agent Colburn will report his findings in a few hours.”

* * *

 

Together with a very exhausted Baila, Harry was returning from the training deck where she had sparred and jogged with her to get her mind of committing suicide. But Harry suspected that Baila’s exhaustion was also partially physical. Like her, she hadn’t seen natural sun or a solar cabin for some time and as Baila had been assigned to this destroyer longer than her, chances where high that her Vitamin D levels were nearly depleted. When she had dragged her to the infirmary the staff tried to send them away. So, she had angrily, with gritted teeth, resorted to the imperius curse to get her way and was lucky that it had worked. Baila’s extensive blood test would still take one rotation, but at least she would have something else in her hands that she would be able to present when the time came, and questions were being asked and they were probably being asked after what she had done. She was collecting evidence, which had meant that she has sliced for information about the other conscripts that had chosen to leave their life and stored the information on an extra data disc.

Just as they stepped out of the turbolift they were stopped by a stormtrooper without his uniform, which Harry recognized as Colin Creevey.

“Potter, I was just looking for you.” He panted. “We need your help.”

Baila shifted uncomfortably next to her and Harry didn’t really want to leave her alone right now.

“Why? What’s wrong?” She enquired wanting to finally to get to the shower after her workout.

We, ahm, there are two troopers in our squad, who just tried to off themselves and we stopped them just in time, but Neville figured that we would need you to help them.

Harry’s breath hitched. It seemed that her little demonstration had worked or at least Longbottom was clever enough to understand what it had meant. She collected herself and turned towards Baila.

“I need to go for some time. Will you be alright without me? I’m going to check on you later, is that alright for you.” Baila hesitantly nodded and turned towards the direction of her bunk.

“Please remember your promise.” Harry added and Baila turned back and nodded with a determined smile to reassure her new friend.

With that Harry took off following Colin down a level to the barracks of the Storm troopers.

“How exactly did you stop them?” she enquired.

“We stunned them, before they could do any more harm.” Colin responded next to her.

“Were there any previous signs that they wanted to commit suicide?” she enquired but Colin shook his head. “Wouldn’t know about that. They seemed fine.”

“Do they have any other specialized weapons expertise, beyond blasters?” she enquired processing the information and mentally going through her list of what she could find when she met them.

“Don’t know.” Colin responded, and Harry gritted her teeth. He was quite unhelpful.

“Have the two already seen a lot of action in combat?” she enquired wondering if she had to consider PTSD in her calculations, which she would have difficulties dealing with as she had only studied it in theory, but never actually worked with people suffering from it.

“Yeah, they are the two oldest troopers in our squad and have seen some action.” He responded and was further interrogated by her:

“Any particular behaviour from them, anger, insomnia, hallucinations, flashbacks?”

“Nope, not that I can recall.” He answered as the turned the corner and directed her towards two cots, where she saw two stormtroopers in training gear sit on one, with Longbottom and second one who seemed familiar to her standing protectively near them and seemed to protect them from several other troopers. It seemed that the entire squad was here. As they passed several groups of stormtroopers male and female and some relaxing on their cot there was some catcalling among some males, but Harry only shot them an annoyed look and proceeded to ignore them.

When she reached them she immediately saw that the two very certainly not alright. They heavily projected their helplessness strongly enough that she could detect it faintly even with her mental barriers in place..

“Thanks for coming.” Longbottom told her. “I know it’s difficult for you to see me, but…”

She stopped him. “Not here for you Longbottom. I’m here to help them and you are far too many around here that I can talk to them properly. Might I suggest that you get out of hearing range?”

“We are not going anywhere. They are in my squad and therefore our responsibility.” A broad shouldered dark-skinned man told her. 

“And I respect that.” Harry answered sensing that the man was truly worried for his comrades, but she needed space to talk to them. “But does any of you have any training in psychology? I have a PHD from my planet and although the empire does note recognize it I know the procedures to prevent it. They tried to commit suicide and you prevented it, which tells me that your squad is more committed to its members than all the others here on the Chimera and I will need your help later, but first I need to assess the situation by talking to them. Privately.” She told him. 

“What’s a PHD?” the man asked, and Longbottom explained. “It’s the highest achievable rank in Universities, on our planet. Ahm … Universities are like Academies, Sir.”  

Ups, the man was probably outranking her, but luckily, she was in the navy and he was in the army and she had not addressed him properly. But he seemed to be a bit more relaxed than her stuck up superiors.

He scrutinized her and nodded shortly. “Alright, give them some room.” He ordered, and the group dispersed in several directions out of hearing range and Harry set down on the same cot opposite the two and set to work with them while hoping that none of the members of their squad was responsible for their state otherwise she could forget getting their help.

* * *

 

“You asked to see me, Grand Admiral.” ISB Agent Colburn asked as he stepped into Thrawn’s office. He had spent much time interrogating witnesses about the incident and had not been happy about Thrawn’s order to present his findings. He knew that he should be looking for more spice indicted officers in the fleet and this woman was beginning to get on his nerves. She hadn’t been long on this ship and this wild space chick was already threatening carefully administered order and he liked having everything in order. He had hoped to use her attack in the cantina to finally get her kicked out or court martialled, but he unfortunately he had investigated too well and had not enough evidence to convict her and he suspected that it would not come to that. Especially, as the Grand Admiral had invested in her future by letting her be trained by his personal aide.

“Yes, I’m most curious about the incident.” Thrawn answered with Vanto at his side.

“Very well, Grand Admiral.” The man answered and readied himself. “The incident was observed by no less than 587 individuals of various ranks and divisions.  I’ve spoken to several witnesses, who were close to the incident and they confirmed that Midshipman Potter attacked the Midshipman Ponce by grabbing his throat from behind, forcing him to bend backwards onto one of the tables and apparently threatened him to kill him if he ever crossed her again. Until further investigation I found out from other conscripts about an earlier incident, where Midshipman Potter prevented a person from jumping to her death. Midshipman Ponce apparently was one of two individuals encouraging the suicidal to jump. A few conscripts concurred that she thundered had looked furious and had ordered them to silence.”

Thrawn looked pensive and enquired. “The suicide was prevented?”

“Yes, Grand Admiral.” The ISB agent answered grinding his teeth. “We have identified the suicidal as Naboo Native Baila Panaká, a technician in the communication division. But we have also detected that somebody has issued a full and detailed blood analysis, yet we do not know who and why of her, but I suspect that Midshipman Potter is somehow behind it.”

“It is not the standard test`?” Eli Vanto asked and the ISB agent shook his head. “No, it is not. It is a more detailed and costlier one.”

“Agent Colburn, do you know where Midshipman Potter is at the moment. I believe that it would be most useful if she were present during our conversation.” Thrawn stated.

“I’ll know in a moment.” Agent Colburn told him, tapped something in his data pad and frowned.

“Is something wrong?” Vanto enquired.

“No, it’s just unusual.” He answered. Normally, at this time Midshipman Potter is on the barrack deck of her assigned cot, but she is currently one deck below with storm troopers. Apparently, there has been another suicidal incident involving two troopers, which was prevented.

“Very interesting.” Thrawn commented and Vanto knew that the specific intonation which indicated that the Chiss would not let this go anytime soon.

She had spent another night without any sleep and was now very close to cracking herself. Both of the troopers, who had attempted to kill themselves where showing some signs of PTDS due to their exposure to severe violence. What made it even worse was that they had been on track to become death troopers, whatever that was, when one mission had gone awry and now plagued their memories. She had worked hard to gain their trust or rather she had manipulated them to get their trust using shamelessly NLP techniques and eventually they had warmed up to her and trusted her well enough. They had concurred that they had problems to get a good night’s sleep because they were plagued by nightmares and flashbacks of what had happened on their mission. One of the two also told her that he sometimes was unable to fire his rifle, because he could see his victims from that one mission looking at him accusingly. When she had carefully prodded what had happened on that mission she had bite her tangue a few times as she had been quite shocked. The empire had already committed genocide and she was working for them at the moment. Her mental commitment and nausea against the empire grew with the ever more detailed growing narration. The two had been part of one of the squads that had been deployed to Lasan, where they had used T-7 ion disruptor rifles against the Lasad. It was hard to imagine that someone would create weapons which disintegrated organic beings’ atom by atom, resulting in a slow, painful and excruciatingly grotesque death. No scratch that, of course they would. The empire was run by Psychopaths and high functioning sociopaths. Of course, they would do that. If not even something worse.  Although, she really wanted to cry for the lives lost on Lasan, she had to focus. But she wrestled with her conscious.

The two had just followed orders and taken part in the genocide and she really wanted them to suffer for taking part in these killings. They deserved to die, but it seemed that they were already haunted by the ghosts of their past. So, who was she to judge? She also was working for the empire at the moment.  Still forced, but still, she was working for them. They had just followed orders and would probably have been shot if they hadn’t complied. But did this redeem them? Some people would probably think so, but not her. It didn’t redeem them. They weren’t conscripts. They had known what they had signed up for. They had known, that they would follow orders.

She reminded herself, that she was not allowed to judge them in her current state. She needed to stay impartial if she were able to help them. But did she want to help them? She didn’t, but as she listened to them she became aware of another lurking danger and knew that she had to help them to prevent their deaths and possibly many others. But if she would ever get the chance fleeing from her imperial service, knowing that the Dursley’s would be safe, then she would join the only still rumoured rebellion.

After talking with the two troopers she had shortly spoken to their squad leader and informed him that they needed help and that they were unable to perform their duties in their current state. She couldn’t send them to the infirmary, but she suggested that for the time being they had to be confined their and with his permission she would visit them there and work further with them there, but she warned him that the two shouldn’t be anywhere near their blasters or any other guns. When he had asked her if they were mentally ill, she had informed them that they were not ill, but scarred. She told him that they would need help to stand on their own feet again, but she couldn’t do that alone. Getting the two troopers permission she persuaded them that going to the infirmary would be the best option and she would regularly come to visit them to help them get better and that they could count on their squad.

As it became time to get ready for her shift again she saw the squad leader take action and went back to her deck, checked on Baila, who had just woken up and murmured a cleaning spell to avoid the long way to the showers. Her hair had also grown a bit, but she surely could still hide it underneath her cap. She slipped into her jump suit and extended her small suitcase a bit to get some pepper up potion. She needed to function on her shift after all.

She closed the door of her locker and jumped shrieking as she came eye to eye with Thrawn’s aide: Eli Vanto. Harry quickly caught herself, put her feet together and squared her shoulders.

“Sir?” she addressed him and caught him smirking at her. “Grand Admiral Thrawn requests your presence.” He told her and gestured her to follow him which she did reluctantly. She was probably now walking to her doom and she realized that she would be late for her shift again if Thrawn was in his office and not on the bridge. _Blasted!_

Harry followed Commander Vanto with racing heart. What the hell would happen now? Why did the Grand Admiral want to speak with her? They stopped shortly in front of a guarded door and handed the stormtrooper commander their code cylinders. After that they entered an antechamber which to Harry’s astonishment was sparsely decorated with several columns displaying, what seemed like … artwork, which was strategically illuminated. She could spot two small obelisks, which were about a yard tall, a rather large horn, something that resembled a golden goblet with stone inlays. A small golden statue which looked like a planet with rings around it an inscription on the rings, but she could be mistaken. They passed something that looked like a broken hilt of a sword, but she had no idea if that really was what she assumed it to be. They passed two closed blast doors on the left and right and stopped next to something bulky that looked like a class 4 or 5 droid. Well, it looked mean. Did the Grand Admiral collect trophies of those he besieged or was he just a collector, who loved to hoard treasures. She suddenly had to stop herself from snorting in amusement and bit her cheeks as she imagined a large blue dragon with growing red eyes hovering over masses of gold and artistic statues like the dragon Smaug from her favourite children’s book.

“Something amusing?” Vanto asked and she bit her cheeks a bit harder not to give her away. How should she explain what she had just thought about their scary fleet commander?

“No, sir.” She neutrally said but swore that her voice was a bit higher pitched and the other man arched his eyebrow. It seemed that he was just as sharp as the Chiss commander, but let it go. The door finally hissed open and she followed Vanto into the main office and stepped dead in her tracks. It was not what she had expected. It was still rather dull with grey being the only colour, but even in here she could spot some artworks. Before she could examine them further she remembered her place and scrambled to stand attention and realized that there was someone else in the room beside Vanto and the scary blue-skinned commander. The ISB agent, she had encountered was also present. She gulped. _That’s not good. Not good at all._

“Midshipman Potter.” Thrawn greeted her. “Thank you for coming.”

_As if I had a chance._

“Do you know, why you are here?” he asked her.

She squared her shoulders and kept her hands behind her back. “I do not, Sir.” She answered with steadier voice than she felt. “But I suspect it has something to do with my dispute with the other Midshipman in the cantina.”

“Correct.” Thrawn answered. “Agent Colburn’s investigation indicated that the altercation followed a specific incident from hours earlier. Is that correct.”

“It is.” She confirmed nodding once.

“Please. Elaborate in detail what that incident involving Crewman Baila Panaká was about.” Thrawn ordered.

“Well,” Harry started gathering her thoughts. She had to be careful not to get too much into detail, but still provide enough information. She took a deep breath and locked eyes with the glowing red ones.

“I spotted Baila Panaká sitting at the edge of her cot, with her blanket torn to pieces and created into a sling. She was slightly trembling and almost ready to jump. But as she hadn’t jumped at that time I knew that I had still some time to get to her to prevent it. I addressed her and like many suicide she tried to deter me from helping her, when suicide really want to get help. So, I slowly built up some rapport, but she edged closer to the edge and if she would have slipped then she would have died. In order to prevent that, before I could reach her I made her promise that she could not do anything to herself until after she had talked to me. That promise still stands. I needed to talk with her to get her mind away from committing suicide and to make it easier for me I asked her to temporarily remove the sling. I could see that she was quarrelling with herself to comply with that. In that fleeting moment the other Midshipmen called out to her to jump already and his call followed a second. He would have rendered every rapport, I built with Crewman Potter useless and it could have led to her death. I hadn’t been able to reprimand him then in front of her or her trust would have been shattered, but I vowed that I would not let this go.”

She breathed in anger and clenched her fists behind her back.

“So, you attacked him in the cantina for that.” Agent Colburn asked with a slight snarl and Harry was close to rolling her eyes but stopped herself in the nick of time.

“He was there, I saw an opportunity and I took it.” Harry answered calmly. “He probably won’t do anything like that anytime soon. The second individual will also think twice at doing that again and it involuntarily served as demonstration that it was not alright to make fun of suicidals or trying to push them further to their death. And it prevented two more suicides.”

“The two stormtroopers that are confined in the med bay?” Thrawn asked.

“Tell us, what makes them different to Crewman Panaká? You corroborated with commander Othello to have them confined, while you clearly observe her behaviour.” Thrawn asked.

“Several things, Sir.” Harry answered and realized that she somehow had slipped into her lecture mode, which had sometimes frustrated her two best friends on Earth.

“First, the reasons for their suicides are different. The two troopers are suffering from what is known on my planet, as PTSD and means Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. I don’t know if the empire has similar definition for it. It’s not a mental illness, but a psychological wound that is triggered by a terrifying event and is often found in combat units.  After talking to both troopers they confirmed that they display several symptoms of said syndrome and won’t be able to perform their duties if they do not get help. Furthermore, they still think about killing themselves and I can’t help three people on my own. Especially not, when there is no will or structure in the empire to prevent their needless deaths. Crewman Panaká’s situation is easier to handle as she is depressed and willing to let someone help her.”

“What was the event that supposedly triggered this PTS thing?” Agent Colburn asked her, but Harry shook her head.

“That I cannot say.” She had no idea if they had broken their confidentiality by telling her about Lasan and she had no desire to be shot or killed because she knew something that she wasn’t supposed to know.

“So, you don’t know.” Colburn huffed shaking his head, but it seemed that the other two weren’t so easily fooled.

“It seems that Midshipman Potter is unsure if the information the two troopers provided about this event is strictly confidential. Isn’t that right?” He mused, and Harry’s blood drained from her face as heat was rushing down her body.  _Shit! I’m dead!_ She quickly looked between an angry looking agent Colburn to the slightly smug Chiss.

“Midshipman Potter.” Thrawn prodded. “Isn’t that right?”

“I’m neither negating nor confirming that, Sir.” She tried to evade the question but Thrawn stopped her.

“But you just did.” Yes, she did. But not verbally. Or did she?

“Do you have suggestions how the suicide incidents can be reduced?” He enquired locking his unsettling glowing red eyes with hers.

Just as she wanted to answer Agent Colburn cut in. “With all due respect, Grand Admiral. But should we really focus our resources on preventing these incidents. Yes, these incidents are unfortunate, but cutting out the weak only makes our forces stronger.”

Harry clamped her teeth shut otherwise she was very tempted to give the ISB agent a piece of her mind and her hands had wandered from behind her back to her sides and had formed fists in anger. As she realized this she quickly put them behind her back. A motion that had unfortunately not gone unnoticed.

“You seem to strongly disagree with Agent Colburn.” Thrawn asserted.

She nodded trying to get her burning anger under control again otherwise something would happen when she lost control.  And the last thing she needed was some of Thrawn’s artefacts exploding inexplicably or lights flickering. The strange orb between the two lizard looking creatures would probably be a likely candidate for explosion. Ok, lights flickering could probably be explained with power failure, if she was lucky.

“Permission to speak freely?” she asked her fleet commander and Thrawn answered. “Granted.”

“Being suicidal, depressed or having PTSD has nothing to do with being weak. Everybody can have phases that bring us closer to suicidal thoughts. There are many external influences that can cause depression. The spectrum can be rather large. If it is not treated by means necessary, it can cause suicide. As for PTSD, it can happen to the strongest person and can’t be cured. But with the right treatment those suffering from them can manage it and work just as well as everybody else. What you also overlook is the way that people commit suicide. For the empire those suicides are numbers, but what it tends to overlook is that statistically one suicide can cause further suicides as there are often correlations. Furthermore, the people finding the dead after successfully committing suicide can be traumatized further. When the suicide was public, like it would have been in Crewman Panaká’s case it would have traumatized further individuals, which would then not have been able to perform their duties as well as they should have. And then there is the additional danger of extended suicide.”

“How can suicide be extended? Colburn frowned at her. “The duration of what it takes to neutralize oneself?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Extended suicide is often committed by individuals, who consider their lives meaningless and want to do something that will be remembered. Meaning that they will try to take as many people into death with them as possible. This can easily be accomplished by anyone carrying or handling blasters or any other hazardous materials, which I believe we have in copious quantities on board. These suicides can be either well planned, in which case they can be spotted beforehand or they can be rather spontaneous which can cause devastating effects in case the individual decides to carry out his or her extended suicide in the middle of a battle.”

“We do have mental evaluations.” Colburn protested, but Harry nodded. “Yes, before somebody is assigned to a ship and, but mental states can change.”

Thrawn pensively turned towards one of the artworks with one hand behind his back and one on his chin. A few seconds passed, and he turned again facing her again.

“Very well, Midshipman.” He said approvingly. “You’ve made your case. I would like you to continue what you are doing, and I also ask you to write a detailed report about the deficiencies of our current system and what steps should be taken to improve it. I need to inform you that this report will need to be impeccable as it will be forwarded to High Command.”

Harry gulped. Did Thrawn really write something important as that? Does that mean he would actually listen to her suggestions? She would do her best to improve the conditions to prevent more suicides.

“Yes, Sir.” She acknowledged. “Thank you, Sir.”

“High Command, will not be pleased to get suggestions from a female wild space midshipman on how they should run their fleets.” Vanto commented after the office door closed after Agent Colburn.

“They will listen to her when it is presented properly.” Thrawn answered. “I find her arguments very convincing.”

“They are” Vanto concurred and blinked as Thrawn used his globe interface to display several holo paintings. 

“Tell me, Commander Vanto.” He said. “Which common thread do these paintings have?”

Vanto stepped closer and scrutinized each in detail until he concluded. He did not recognize their origin, but suspected that Thrawn would shortly fill him in.

“The styles are all different, indicating that they are from different cultures” he started and Thrawn nodded.

“Different cultures, yet the same planet.” He informed him. “What else, can you see?”

He scrutinized them again and then it hit him. All those individuals depicted in the paintings, murals and other means were holding either a large stick in their hands or a delicate one. One mural on a vase showed to individuals holding their sticks against each other as if they would be holding swords, but he didn’t see any sword. Only that stick. “They are all holding some sort of wood.” He answered.

“Exactly” Thrawn approved pulling Midshipman’s wooden stick from a hidden compartment of his desk and carefully laid it on it.

 


	10. Assistance

_Night had fallen over the lush, dry countryside and the party, which had been shortly disrupted hours earlier, was back in full swing. To the immense relief of the hosts. The children were already fighting with their tiredness as they were awake longer than usual to celebrate the birthday of the boy-who-lived. Some families, mainly those she had invited on a whim, had already left._

_Everyone knew that the last thing planned for today would be the extensive fireworks accompanied with loud classical music. Yet none of their attention was focused on the growing shadows along the hedges and the fence._

_Yet what was causing these ominous slowly growing shadows? Brown and greyish muddy stones slowly gained height, shivered and morphed into small innocent Angel statues in old Greek garments who held their hands protectively in front of their eyes and kept growing._

_The first firework erupted causing shouts of delight by the watching crowd and Vivaldi’s Summer started to blare from the magical loudspeakers accompanying the varied display of fireworks._

_Harriet was sitting on the edge of her balcony, with her back against the wall, the Sirius Wand in her right hand while watching the display intently through her stolen binoculars. Every moment now._

_There a child was pulling her mother’s robes anxiously pointing towards one of the angels that were very slowly closing in on the group of people._

_There another one had realized that someone was moving in. And another one. A few of the kids whimpered. At least it looked like that, judging from their expressions._

_Harriet concentrated and pointed Sirius Wand at the Music box in the garden, stopping the recording of Vivaldi’s Four seasons. Instead there was eerie silence, hollow laughter and confused faces of the guests. When her father stepped away from the crowd to check on the Music box, the final piece of her preparation fell into piece._

_“You’re all in terrible danger.” A hollow voice could be heard from all the speakers._

_“What in Merlin’s name?” she heard her father exclaim seeing that there wasn’t a different recording in it. “Who are you and what do you want!”_

_Harriet snickered at her father’s face._

_“My name is of no importance, but you will soon have vanished if you don’t listen to me” the hollow voice admonished him, while the fireworks were still erupting in the night sky. But the faces of everyone downstairs was showing small traces of fear._

_“The lonely assassins they used to be called.” The disembodied voice sighed gravelly. “Nobody quite knows where they came from, but there as old as the universe or very nearly. And they have survived this long because they have the best defence system ever evolved.”_

_“What are you talking about? Show yourself!” Her father bellowed while Sirius, Remus and Arthur were scanning the area._

_“You are not listening to me, young man.” The hollow voice answered and laughed at him. “Do you want to be responsible for the deaths of everyone on your grounds?”_

_“They are Quantum-locked. Which means that they only exist when they aren’t being observed. The moment anyone looks at them they freeze into rock. It’s in their nature. Literally, when they are observed they turn into stone.”  The voice paused. “And you can’t kill a stone.” Harriet could hear a collective gasp and whimpers from some children._

_“Of course, a stone, can’t kill you either, but then you turn your head away or simply blink… and then…” the voice left the suggestion open. “It’s up to you know, they are coming for you, for all of you.”_

_“Who is coming? What are we supposed to do?!” James shouted turning in all directions and was mimicked by the other frightened guests guests,._

_“The weeping angels, to feast on your Magic. They are coming, so don’t blink!”_

_The lights flickered and went out, causing people to shriek and they went back on again causing another terrified scream from the guests when they spotted the advancing angels._

_The lights flickered and surrendered to darkness again causing people to yell, some used their wands to have some light. The lights went back on and the angels had made significant headway. A few adults where chaotically shooting spells at them and had to duck down as they were deflected from the angel’s surface._

_The lights went out again and the same procedure repeated and when the lights went back on Harriet could spot children clinging to their parents and her brother was desperately clinging to their mother with tears rolling down his round face. The angels know were not covering their hands any longer and the time between darkness and light became shorter and more hastily._

_Whenever the light came back on their faces became more monster like with sharp teeth and more pronounced features and stretched their hands towards the huddled group of guests with their parents trying to defend their children. But it was useless. Just as the darkness returned for the last time, in which the Angels must have reached the group, the entire group of guests yelled, screamed and wailed in fear as the Angels reached and touched them with their cold hands only to disintegrate back into the transformed dirt._

_The lights went back on and Harriet could hear a collective gasp of relief, when the people realized that they were still alive and well._

_Well, that was it. If she was lucky then nobody would show up for her brother’s next birthday party after that little stunt. She grinned, but it fell, when she saw her father’s enraged face looking at her general direction. He couldn’t possibly have figured it out. They couldn’t possibly know that it had been her. After all, they had always accused her of not having magic._

_How wrong she had been._

* * *

 

Harry was running later than usual thanks to her assignment, which was supervised by Commander Vanto. Adding more strain to her workload: Her duties as Midshipman, her diligent research for Thrawn’s assignment, which caused some stir on the destroyer, the therapies with the two stormtroopers suffering from PTSD and Baila, her language, history and battle techniques tutoring with Commander Vanto, and her own training to stay fit and healthy. It was exhausting to always be around people.  Vanto had commented on her slicing the files of those that had committed suicide. Especially, when Thrawn had already cleared them for her. Something that she had overlooked. And he had told her that there had been one too many complaints about her behaviour already because of her questioning techniques of the peers that had worked with the suicides. Especially, as she had not adhered to the different ranks and continued her relentless questioning. She had then patiently explained that the files were not enough as she had to categorize the suicides for her report and for that she had needed the input of their peers.

Harry knew all the horrendous words she was already called behind her back, but she was used to it. At least her past had prepared her for that. She just wanted to do her job and prevent more suicides. Even the doctors in the hospital deck were groaning every time they saw her and tried to evade her. They could certainly try. She grinned. But she was as tenacious as a leech, knew how to use NLP and had magic at her hands. They had no chance.

But she also was now known to be the person to go to when somebody was suspected of planning to commit suicide. That’s why she was running late now. Baila had dragged another female tech to her cot and Harry had evaluated her state, causing her to miss breakfast and her daily haircut. But she was now certain that the other tech was going through a depressed phase but was not in an immediate danger. But, just like Baila she had made her promise that if she took a turn to the worse she had to come to her first.

Harry took a deep breath and prepared herself for another tediously boring 12-hour shift in the crew pit. It was mindlessly boring. She sighed. That was probably why she loved her special assignments better as it challenged her, and she loved to be challenged.

The turbolift stopped at the bridge and Harry stepped out, took a few steps towards the crew pits and stopped confused. They were still in hyperspace and apart from her ensign and Commander Faro, she knew none of the others here. They didn’t even look like the personal working in the former shift. What had she missed? The bridge also seemed livelier than usual. She couldn’t be on another Ship, could she be? Her heartbeat accelerated. Had she accidently apparated?  Had she gotten the time confused? She checked her chronometer. _Nope_. It was the time of her shift. But where was her crew? Before anyone could say anything or wonder why she was rooted in one place, she quickly caught herself and climbed down to the pit and presented herself to her Ensign.

“What are you doing here, Midshipman Potter?” she snarled at her, but Harry didn’t flinch. She was used to the way her Ensign addressed those serving under her.

“Working my shift as usual, Mam.” She answered calmly.

“Your presence is not required at the moment, Midshipman.” Ensign Danti told her stepping closer threateningly. “The combat crew is the only crew necessary in the next few hours. So, leave the bridge and wait for further instructions.”

Harry nodded in understanding. “And where exactly should I wait for further instructions, Mam?”

“At the duty stations, of course. Understood, Midshipman?” Danti hissed angrily and Harry nodded calmly, while observing her superiors angry pulsing vain on her temple. _She’s afraid of the battle!_ “Understood, Mam.”

She turned on her heels and ascended back up and passed the scanner station to reach the turbolift again. Well, she knew what she would use her additional time for. Mentally creating a list of priorities, she could work off until she was called back to duty. The battle, she hoped, which would probably mark the end of the pirates in this sector, would not cause too many deaths around her. She dreaded the possibility of feeling further deaths around her. She had not felt the suicides, but a high death toll would surely be felt by her. Lost in thoughts she barely registered that the doors hissed open and as she stepped in.

She froze - and hastily jumped back, standing attention without hindering the Fleet commander to step out of the lift. _Phew_. That had been a close encounter. She had almost walked directly into him.

“Apologies, Sir.” She apologized feeling her face heat up in embarrassment.

“None required, Midshipman Potter.” replied soothingly, scrutinizing her, while other officers flocked out of the lift behind him. “Why are you not at your station?” he enquired calmly with his deep and cultivated voice.

Harry fiddled uncomfortably with her hands behind her back. _What the hell is going on? Why should I be at my station, when the combat crew is there?_

“Because Ensign Danti ordered me to wait with the rest of my shift crew below at the duty stations and await further instructions.” She answered him, blending out the scrutinizing eyes boring into hers.

“Nonsense.” He remarked partly turning to the crew pits. “You’ve recently studied Clone Wars battle strategies with Commander Vanto, have you not?” he asked turning back towards her.

“Yes, Sir.” She answered nodding hesitantly, wondering where he was going with this.

“Then, I think it best if you returned to your station to observe and perhaps assist the combat crew. Some of the manoeuvres might be familiar to you from your battle studies and simulations” Thrawn replied calmly gesturing towards the crew pit. There was no mistake. She was ordered to remain on the bridge.

“Yes, Sir.” She turned and reluctantly returned to her crew pit as Thrawn dismissed her. Ensign Danti would probably chew her alive, when she saw her come back. She could have sworn that the ambitious woman was able to spit fire sometimes.  

Almost inaudible she heard Thrawn address Commander Vanto and she froze mid-step down the pit. It seemed that the blue skinned commander was able to see through her enchantment hiding her long-braided hair and asked his aide for confirmation. Vanto murmured back that he only saw short hair. That was problematic, and she had to remind herself to continue climbing down the steps into the pit. Another problem added to her ever-growing list.

“Are you deaf, by any chance or mentally incapacitated?” the woman snapped at her darkly when Harry presented herself again. “I gave you a direct order!”

Harry winced at her tone but tried to remain calm. Especially as the other women almost seemed hysterical.

“You did, but Grand Admiral Thrawn ordered me to return to my station to observe and assist the Combat Crew if necessary.”

“Assist, what could you possibly do to assist?” the women scoffed dismissively. “Alright, if the Grand Admiral wills it, then so be it, but as soon as you’re in the way, then your out, understood?” Harry swore that the other women was grumbling something under hear breath which sounded similarly like ‘Thrawn’s pet.’ She shook her head at that. She was no one’s pet.

“Yes, mam.” Harry nodded not knowing what to do with herself. She knew nobody of the crew and someone was already sitting at her station throwing her an angry glare as soon as she approached him. As she stood strategically next to her station she surveyed the pit and realized that apart from Ensign Danti she was the only other female there. The Combat crew also wore different uniforms, which indicated that they were not conscripts and clearly had been trained in an imperial academy and were of higher rank than her. They were all Ensigns. So, the chain of command could be problematic. So, what was she doing here? She was completely out of place.  

"All units signal ready, Admiral," the tactical officer on duty informed Thrawn. Harry had no idea what the plan was, but she assumed that everyone on the bridge had been prepped beforehand.

"Excellent," she heard Grand Admiral Thrawn reply, his voice glacially as he swept over the central walkway.

“Incoming!” Senior Lieutenant Kelby called from the sensor station.

“Numerous craft, incoming from behind the outer moon. Incoming on our starboard-aft quarter, moving on attack vectors.

“Identification: 24 SS-54 Assault ships, 12 Flarestar-Class Attack shuttles and 15 Trident Drill Assault crafts and 23  Correllian Cargo Freighters. ”

Harry gaped. That were a lot of ships and it seemed that Grand Admiral Thrawn’s patience had indeed paid off. They just had to catch them.

 

* * *

 

St. Mungos

It was late afternoon in London and Draco was on edge. The Wizarding world had closed itself off the Muggle world a few days ago and many Muggleborns had simply disappeared as they had not wanted to separate from their families or let go off their only defensive power: Magic. That meant that they were no hunted down by Aurors and had to hide their powers from the empire as Augusta Longbottom, had with the help of the Quibbler leaked to them that the empire had apparently Magic Hunters, who were called Inquisitors.

In the last month Astoria’s health had unfortunately deteriorated rapidly as she had become paler than usual, had trouble standing for a longer time or walking up the dozens of stairs found in their manor, and had needed to rest more often. Their son naturally, who for some reason wasn’t as close to his mother as it would be natural, had been the first to realize that something was wrong with her. He barely had let go off her and had cuddled more, knowing full well that that was something that Astoria normally didn’t like. But more astonishingly she had accepted it and even let their son sleep next to her at night.

The entire family was now waiting in a conference room for results of Astoria’s condition. His father had already said that he would pay for everything to make sure that his daughter in law would become healthy again. But creepily enough, Scorpius had sadly told him that he could sense that his mother would leave them soon. Nobody in the family could explain what was going on with his son. Lucius and Narcissa were convinced that he was a seer, but it didn’t always fit. Yes, he seemed to sense some things, but the way he phrased his sentences, it implied that the things were happening at the same moment he became aware of it. And what puzzled Draco personally was that Scorpius continued to draw pictures connected to his former lover. The setting of those strange dagger shaped ships changed. Once he had drawn a picture of a dark-haired female, which Narcissa had interpreted as either her dead sister Bellatrix or Andromeda. She had hoped that it would mean that she would make up with her estranged sister. But Scorpius informed her that if she wanted to make up with his aunt then she would need to take the first step and that this woman was bright and beautiful and was called Harry. Why did he only draw her? Why not anyone else? He was drawing her now again, but she was standing opposite to a blue person and red eyes? Maybe Scorpius just imagined it. Children at that age had a vast imagination after all. His mother was sitting calmly next to his father on the bench and held his hand, clearly hoping the best for Astoria while conversing with the Greengrass family, his parents-in-law.

The door opened, and one Medi-witch and a healer entered solemnly, causing the entire family to jump up. “Will she be alright?” Walpurga Greengrass asked with shaking hands.

“I believe it’s best if you all sit back down again.” The healer answered earnestly and curiously everyone sat back down. Scorpius stopped his drawing, put his crayons down and calmly listened to them.

“We have found that Mrs. Astoria Malfoy is carrying a genetic related-blood curse, which came into effect a few years ago and which know starts to show its toll on her body. Have you been aware of a curse like that?” the Healer asked addressing the Greengrass family and Lucius’ face had turned furious, clearly thinking that he had been betrayed.

“How many years ago?” Lucius asked coolly with a dangerous edge in his voice and Narcissa put her hand onto his to calm him down.

“Considering her condition, we assume that it was about two or three years ago.” The healer answered professionally.

Lucius calmed down somewhat. So, she hadn’t had the condition before her marriage to his son.

Frederic Greengrass gulped hesitantly and answered with slightly shaking voice:” Our family did have a dark blood curse in our blood, but my grandfather beseeched it. There was no indication that we would still carry it. The Medi-witch nodded in understanding and explained:

” Yes, our research into our hospital files on your family corroborates this, but a genetic blood curse, that has been beseeched can lie dormant and inactive, until it is reactivated. Most pureblood families nowadays are carriers of such curses. Can you imagine how or why it was reactivated?”

The Greengrass sat and wracked their minds as far as Draco could see and his parents didn’t look as murderous anymore.

“No, unfortunately I have no idea. I even do not know exactly how that curse came into our family line. Only rumours.” The elder Greengrass answered with quivering voice. “What can we do to treat it again?”

“There are a few options that we could try. Firstly, we could try to find out everything about the original caster of the blood curse and find a direct descendant, asking to reverse and lift it entirely. Secondly, we can find out, how your grandfather beseeched it and lay it dormant again. The third option would be to find out the reason why it has been reactivated and lay it dormant again.” The mousy haired Medi-witch informed them.

“Could the curse have been reactivated by someone from the original caster’s descent or from someone else?” Narcissa asked contemplating all options.

“That’s a tricky question.” The blond dark-blond healer answered stroking his chin. “From my knowledge it could be both. It is possible that someone descending from the original caster’s line could have been unaware of it’s ancestor’s cast and repeated it and in so doing reactivating it. Or it could be a curse from a new caster, who might have felt slighted at something that has been done and cast a curse and it reactivated it. In that case it could also be possible that the Curse was reactivated if Mrs. Astoria Malfoy has done something similar than the person, who first received the curse.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Walpurga Greengrass defended her daughter. “Astoria wouldn’t hurt a fly.” Narcissa nodded in agreement.

“That’s not true.” Scorpius cut in explaining. “Maman (=French for Mum), hit a large fat fly once which wanted to sit down on my nasty green spinach, because she was afraid that it could carry diseases.”

Draco snorted amused at his son and heard the two healers and his parents do the same.

“Very clever. Which brings me to your son, Mr. Malfoy.” The healer addressed Draco. “As this disease is hereditary, there is a fifty-fifty chance of him carrying it. It doesn’t mean that it will break out if he’s carrying it, but as the curse has been activated there is a high chance that it would, should he carry it.”

“But I’m not carrying it.” the young child protested. “I’m healthy.” He stretched out his tongue to prove this. “See, I’m quite well.” But Draco was feeling nauseous as his heart raced as if it wanted to jump out of his chest. Astoria being ill, was bad enough, but loosing his only son was even worse.

“Alright.” Draco conceded taking the incentive. “Frederic, you research the original curse and find out how your grandfather beat it, Walpurga, you talk with Astoria to find out what might have triggered it again. Mother, Father, you search our library. Maybe there is something written in our Malfoy Annales, that could be a reference to the Curse. I’ll stay with Scorpius during his examination. That way we cover as much ground as possible.”

* * *

 

The entire bridge was buzzing with activity. The bridge lit up with flickers of green light as turbolaser bolts were shot outward toward the incoming ships. Several had already been disabled and the escape pods had been used, but as hard and predictable these pirates fought, they were unable to penetrate Thrawn’s blockade because of the interdictors.  Orders were forwarded back and forth, information was exchanged and as the Grand Admiral had predicted Harry was drawn into assisting the Combat crew in her pit, when she had discovered an irregularity. Something in the information flow had not fitted into what was apparently going on outside. At least not according the numbers on the screen. When she had pointed it out to the man working her station he had dismissed it at first, but she had stood her ground and pointed it out again. And she could not begrudge the man. It did look like a fluke in the numbers, but this fluke was a bit too regular. He had relayed the information to Senior Lieutenant Kelby, who had scanned the designated area according to the numbers on her station but had come up empty. “It’s a fluke, there is nothing there.” He said.

“There it is again.” Harry murmured and the man next to her nodded. “Sir, Midshipman Potter is correct. Something is approaching the Captivus Interdictor.”

Senior Lieutenant Kelby scanned again and complained:” But there is nothing there.”

“Recalibrate the scanners to search for reflective layers. Relay the orders to both our interdictors.” Grand Admiral Thrawn ordered calmly from the central walkway.

So far, the battle was quite straightforward, with the pirates having tried to break through the blockade without any fancy manoeuvres. It seemed more that they were relying on stealth and endurance. Although they were taking heavy fire from the destroyers and the TIEs they did not return to the surface. A few ships had already gone up in flames. It was as if they were waiting for something.

 A second later Senior Lieutenant informed Thrawn:” Oh! Correct. There is a single camouflaged fighter approaching the Captivus, Sir.”

“Disable and capture it.” came the clipped answer from their commander, which was swiftly fulfilled and as the fighter was hit and disabled its camouflage stopped working and was dropped, making it visible to all the ships. “

As soon as the enemy ships realized that their plan had failed they turned and set course back to the surface of the desert moon below and the TIEs were pulled back to their Destroyers. Thrawn established contact with the leaders on the surface and offered them clemency and a fair trial if they surrendered.

The Weequay Leader with thick, leathery skin and lipless face with a frill along his jowl declined angrily:

”Yeh think we’re stupid, Bluey. A so-called fair trial by the empire ends in an execution for us. So, no. You want us? Come and get us, red eyes.” He rasped with his deep and gravel voice.

“So be it.” Their blue skinned commander inclined his head at the hologram.

 It was over, the pirate ships had all been destroyed from orbit and the pirates, which had survived had been captured by the deployed ground troops.  Harry was finally allowed to take over her station again and sit down, while her team had been ordered to come back up to the bridge to relieve the combat crew. Her hands flew over the display and she logged herself in but stopped shortly when she spotted something in the edge of her vision. She turned her head to the right and stared right into the grey eyes of a small toddler with pale blond hair. Her heart constricted. She was losing it. It looked like a miniature version of .... _No, I’m not thinking about that now!_

She shook herself and turned back. When she snuck a glance the child was gone, while the man, who had operated the station before her was hovering behind her. One by one her crew came back filing into the crew pit and took over their respective workstations, glaring at her.

“You know, Midshipman.” The brown-haired Ensign, who had worked her station before said. “That wasn’t so bad. You’re welcome to work with us anytime.”  He patted her shoulder.

“Thank you, Sir.” Harry awkwardly thanked him as he nodded and followed his crewmembers. 

 

 


	11. Murder?

_Remus was desperately trying to find his godchild. Yesterday’s birthday party had ended in a disaster as all the guests had hastily bolted. With Sirius wand found in Harriet’s rooms a thunderous screaming match this between Harriet and her parents had taken place. Alexander and other children had wet themselves and were apparently now terrified of the dark and very jumpy. Yesterday’s festivities were now subject to the front page following many interviews of guests. Many of their guests had concurred that it was the worst party they had ever gone to and would not return the next year. Even the Ministry had issued a statement that they would investigate._

_James and Lily had accused their daughter of being purely evil for playing this prank, disrupting her brother’s annual birthday party like that without even realizing that Harriet must have done some quite advanced magic with Sirius wand. He had tried several times to mediate between the individual family members, but it had been unfruitful as none had acknowledged his attempts. When she had told him that she had already read every book in the Potter library she had apparently spoken the truth and if she had, then she would need additional tutoring before she would perform magic that would prove too difficult for her and potentially fatal._

_Harriet had screamed and defended herself fiercely while accusing her parents of negligence, which had infuriated Lily even more. The red-head had told her that she had her own room, was going to a fancy Muggle school and had no right to complain. Harriet had countered that she had much less than her brother, and that she missed the most important thing from her parents. She admitted for pranking the party to make them realize that it was her birthday as well and that she wanted them to remember it._

_James had countered her that she had no right to complain as she should be thankful to her brother because he had vanquished Voldemort. She had stomped her left foot and magically hurled dishes at her parents, who had barely able to dodge them, some lamps had shattered when she had lost control of her anger. She had screamed that they had no idea what exactly had happened that night when Voldmort had attacked, because they had both been passed out. They only took Dumbledore’s word for granted without even questioning its legitimacy._

_James had berated her harshly, that Alexander had the scar to prove that he was hurt by the Killing Curse and she didn’t. Harriet had lost it and some of the windows had shattered which had quite frightened his two friends for a few seconds. Harriet’s face had been in tears replacing her anger, shouting at them what she had already told him. She even showed them her own scar, but Lily accused her of having created a scar afterwards to get more attention._

_In that moment he had finally been able to get the attention of his friends trying to calm them down, but it had been to late. Harriet had spun on her heels and bolted out of the room. He had talked calmly with his friends trying to bring them to the point where they would be able to see reason, but it had been unfruitful. His friends were changed. They weren’t the same people they used to be at Hogwarts. When he had gone up to Harriet’s room he had found it empty and it seemed that she had decided to run away as her suitcase and a bag was missing._

_He had to find her. Anything could happen to her and she wasn’t old enough to be on her own. Some paedophile might catch her doing Merlin knows what with her,_

_Harriet pulled her suitcase up the narrow stairs of Privet Drive. The Dursley’s were still gone, but she had known where the spare keys for the house were hidden in Uncle Vernon’s shed. Her room here was her sanctuary and she would leave the heavy stuff here and visit Raymond in Cardiff for a few days. Her parents would certainly not miss her. Remus perhaps, but he would be better off without her._

_She fell on her soft bed and hugged her huge pillow, while she felt the tremors of sadness hit her again, which she had held back on her journey from the Potters to Private Drive. It tore through her heart as she let them go and wept and whimpered and gasped for breath. What would she give to be hugged right now by someone telling her that everything would be alright? She needed someone, but right now there want anyone here and she didn’t want anyone to see her like that. Why did she have such strong emotions? She wished at that moment, that she had no emotions. It would make so much easier._

_“She is gone!” Remus burst into the living room where the entire family was assembled detailing everything to Dumbledore who had an uncharacteristically gravel look on his face._

_“Who’s gone?” Sirius asked launching on the sofa, while Alexander was sitting on his father’s lap._

_“Harriet. Her room is empty, her things are gone, and her suitcase is gone. We need to find her!” his voice wavered, and Dumbledore nodded.  “Don’t worry, Remus. She can’t be far away. But we need to talk about what she did yesterday.”_

_“What she did yesterday is a cry for help.” Remus snapped angrily. “She is desperately trying to get the recognition she deserves, but whatever she does you two (he pointed his right index finger at Lily and James) are preferring Alexander to her.”_

_“There is no need for accusations, Remus.” Dumbledore implored, but Remus shook his head. “Alexander is the Boy-who-lived. He needs to be prepared. Harriet, as impressive as her academical record is, has to accept that her brother needs to be a priority. He defeated Voldemort once. His magic is what is important.”_

_“No.” Remus shook his head._

_“I beg you pardon?” Dumbledore raised his eyebrows clearly surprised that somebody was countering him._

_“You claimed that Alexander is the one who supposedly defeated Voldemort based on the scar on his forehead. Is that correct?” Remus asked controlling his swirling anger._

_“Among other tests, yes.” Dumbledore answered._

_“And you inspected Harriet as well?” he enquired, and Dumbledore nodded inclining his head. “Naturally.”_

_“Then how could you miss Harriet’s scar. It’s behind her left earlobe. It has the form of a V.” he defended herself._

_“Oh. Please, she has pulled wool over your eyes too. It is a self-inflicted scar to make herself more interesting.” Lily scoffed, and Remus shook his head._

_“Are you listening to yourself. Your idea that it is self-inflicted should be enough incentive to worry about her, but she isn’t lying. She received that scar at the night of Voldemort’s attack. Did you know that it didn’t heal for almost a year and that Harriet was suffering from it? Did it ever occur to you that Alexander wasn’t the only one that needed help?”_

_“She was lying then when she told you” Lily insisted. “She had no scar.”_

_“No.” Remus took a step closer to his ‘friends’ wondering if that term still applied to their relationship. “She was telling the truth. I know it because her heart jumps when she is dishonest, and it didn’t when she told me.”_

_“So, you admit that she is being dishonest sometimes?” Sirius latched onto that part and Remus rolled his eyes. “The only times she is being dishonest is when she tells me that she is fine, when she clearly isn’t._

* * *

 

St. Mungos:

“So, he does not carry the curse.” Draco enquired again, just to make sure that he had understood the healer correctly. His hands were shaking.

“Correct.” the healer answered with a genuine smile. “But there were some irregularities and therefore we would like to make further tests.” Draco let out a relieved heartfelt sight and frowned at the last request.

“What for? Why?” Draco enquired raising his eyebrows. “What irregularities?”

The healer gulped scratching his back. “We detected that your son’s DNA is vastly different than that of your wife. It is highly possible that the activation of the curse changed your wife’s DNA, which is why it is so different. Or.” The healer stopped.

“Or what.” Draco enquired with raised voice, his heart accelerating again.

“Or there could have been a mix up on the day he was born, and he is not your son.”

“No, no, that’s impossible. He looks exactly like me at his age, he’s smarter than I was. He is my son.” His voice wavered.

“We understand that of course and he does look a lot like you, but we just have to make sure that it was your wife’s DNA setup that has changed. It might also give us a clue how the curse affected her DNA and how we might lay the curse dormant again if any of the other plans are unfruitful.”

“That’s a muggle approach isn’t it.” Draco asked brushing his hand over his son’s unruly hair, who hugged him closer at that. “Most wizards don’t know anything about DNA, yet.”

The healer nodded. “Yes, to be honest I hadn’t expected you to know anything about that. I please ask you to not object to this treatment, just because it is of muggle origin.”

“I won’t. I’ve seen some of the merits of Muggle technology. But I suggest you do not mention this to my wife, her parents and my parents or they might.”

 

… A few hours later

Draco sat down in the parlour with a glass of fire whiskey, next to his father and opposite to his mother. It had been a long day and even though there had never been any doubt in Scorpius being his son, he now hat the confirmation and the healers would now try to work hard to find any similarities in his son’s and his wife’s DNA in order to reverse the curse, but he had been told that this would be immensely difficult as St. Mungos could not simply work together with the Muggle specialists anymore due to the new regulation. They had their own laboratory for DNA tests, but not the advanced technology needed for this type of sequencing. What they were basically doing was illegal now.

“Astoria is sleeping upstairs.” Narcissa told them. “But according to Walpurga she has no idea what has restarted the curse. I don’t know why you told Walpurga to talk to her. I could have too.”

“No, mother. Walpurga is her mother and if she had done something immoral, then it is far more likely that she would tell this her mother. Not us.” Draco answered taking a sip of the whiskey which burnt his asparagus.

“We have yet to find anything useful about the Greengrass curse in our library.” Lucius mentioned, but there is bound to be something. So far, I could only detect that until two generations ago the Greengrasses firstborn child always died soon after being born.”

“Because of the curse?” Draco asked thinking about his son. He didn’t want to lose him although the tests had established that he was not carrying it.

“Probably. „Lucius answered mimicking his son in taking a sip of the whiskey. “We also need to take into consideration that Astoria might not survive this curse.”

“That’s cold, father.” Draco icily rebuked knowing where he was going with this. “Even for you. Astoria is still alive and until it is too late, I will not give up on her.”

“I’m not cold, but just realistic.” Lucius drawled. “If she dies, then Scorpius will need a mother.”

“If Astoria dies, then I will not marry again.” Draco gripped his glass tightly.” As for mother figures, I believe it would be best if we made an effort of reconciling with aunt Andromeda and Dora. Combined with mother he would have ample females in his life.”

His father’s cheeks filled with colour and his vein on his front was pulsing. “We will not reconcile with (he spat the word) blood traitors.”

“Look where it has gotten us.” Draco rebuked. “Our family is still ostracized. If it weren’t for our wealth we wouldn’t even be allowed entry into the ministry. Andromeda and Dora are so different than we are, but they are warm and loving and they are sharp as hell. Dora’s son Teddy is pretty much the only friend Scorpius has. You should see how his eyes light up when he plays with him and his friends.” His parents gaped at him as he had admitted one of his secret that Scorpius had shared with him.

“Since when are you cavorting with blood traitors.  Nymphadora is married to the pauper Lupin. Hardly the person one should have dealings with.” Lucius hissed knocking the rest of his glass down his throat.

“Since Harriet has introduced us after the war.” Draco answered remembering how antsy he had been, when she had dragged him to the meeting with her favourite godfather and how welcoming they had been towards him. It had caught him off guard when he had been hugged by his aunt and his cousin. Even Teddy, who had been a small toddler had joined the group hug before turning to his godmother and pestering her for cuddles. Only Lupin’s behaviour had severely changed after his fall out with Harriet. Andromeda and Dora had tried to reason with him but given up and just accepted his decision.

“Why haven’t you told us?” Narcissa asked barely audible, her voice thick with emotion.

“Because I knew how you would have reacted.” Draco answered stubborn. “You’ve forced my marriage with Astoria, without even considering what I wanted and being the ‘good’ son I was, bent to your wishes. Again. Which cost me … dearly, again.”

“Cost you?” Lucius huffed. “She was pregnant by you. It was the proper thing to do. I can’t understand why you were so hesitant about it.

“There was someone else, wasn’t there.” Narcissa whispered and Draco nodded clenching his left hand into a fist. “It didn’t end well, or Scorpius would have a half-sibling now.”

“What?” His parents jumped simultaneously at his admission. “Who was it?” Lucius growled with blazing eyes, while his mother was apparently mentally going through his official girlfriend list. He always had officially dated and met pureblood girls, which were eager to be shown off to keep his real half-blood girlfriend a secret. And as she had never read “Witch Weekly” or the “Daily Prophet” after leaving the Wizarding World permanently, she had never known about it.

“Pansy?” she asked him, and he sneered in disgust. “Definitely not, mother.”

“Daphne?” she continued, and he shook his head again. “That is even more unlikely, mother.” He answered.

“Then tell us! Don’t keep us hanging!” she complained impatiently. “Do we know her?”

Draco smirked slightly. “You do. Quite well, I believe.”

* * *

 

Chimera cantina

Harry was sitting on one of the metal tables and fighting not to fall asleep, diving headfirst into her breakfast. A strong Espresso would be perfect right now, but she hadn’t been able to get to her locker and refill on pepper up potion. After her last shift on the bridge, she had been informed by Eli Vanto, that Thrawn wanted her report by morning, so that he could look at it before forwarding it to High Command so that they would be able to address it upon their return to Coruscant. She therefore had skipped sleeping after her usual meetings with the confined troopers and Baila and completed her report, detecting something quite worrisome among the cases, which had led to hasty further digging until she had finally forwarded it to Vanto and Thrawn. Her head was heavy, and she picked at her breakfast without being hungry. _Sleep. Sleep_. Was all she could think about right now. She wanted to lie in bed and she imagined the soft feathery bed in the cool linen, listening to the waves crashing onto the shore. She quickly shook her head to clear her head again. Daydreaming wouldn’t help her right now.

She hoped that she wasn’t wrong with the cases she had flagged as a priority, but those seven deaths had stood out from the rest and she was now convinced that they had not been suicides at all. Why nobody had realized this further was a mystery to her. Especially as they were one of the few ones that had pictures documenting the finding of the deceased bodies.

“Hey Potter. Are you planning to sleep with your face in your meal?” she heard Colin Crevey ask her as he sat down at the table opposite her.”

She had no patience for his overly chipper mood and flipped him the bird with her right hand, hearing Longbottom’s amused laughter.

 “Oh boy. She’s in one of those moods, tread carefully Colin.” Why were they sitting here with her? She wanted to be alone right now. Maybe she could get rid of them by poking them with her spoon. A fork or knife would be more effective, but she would have to make due.

“What is it with Stormtroopers and your overly cheerful moods?” she shook her head, which almost slipped her left hand and into her tasteless greyish meal.

“Carpe Diem.” Colin cited. “Every day could be our last.”

“No kidding, if rumours about your inexistent accuracy are true!” Harry mumbled taking another bland bite of her meal.

“Do you always have to be so defensive?” Colin enquired ignoring her comment. “We’re all in the same situation, you know, and we should work together.”

“Not, when you are constantly triggering memory. And not the pleasant ones.” Harry snapped angrily smashing her spoon into her now empty bowl causing the two to jump. Longbottom even edged verily away from here. He knew her well enough from their Hogwarts days how dangerous her temper could be.

“So, what Mrs. Dursley said about you is true. You can’t forget? Anything?” he asked mesmerized and Harry nodded.

“That’s right. I was a quick study, even as a baby, but since Voldemort’s attack, I remember every second.”

Both shuddered at her speaking his name, while she rolled her eyes in annoyance. “So, to answer your question Longbottom, yes, I remember every time you, my brother and his disciples bullied me, called me names or told lies about me to my parents. And yes, it still hurts just as much as it has back then.”

Longbottom’s face turned flustered and apologetic and Harry could sense that he was ashamed.

“So, don’t expect me to jump in joy at seeing any of you.”

“But how is it possible?” Creevy enquired and she just shrugged her shoulders. What would she give for normal boring mind that was able to forget the traumatizing things, but then again it made her special and had helped her on Earth to achieve all that she had wished for career wise.

“Why haven’t you told anyone about your … ahm… your condition?” Longbottom asked her, and Harry sighed.

“Now, why should I have done that, hm? Who would have listened anyway? Certainly not my parents. To them I was just the annoying little prat, that constantly undeservedly wanted their attention. And my situation is unfortunately unique as my condition does not fit any classification. Some doctors believed that I have some form of Hyperthymesia, others say that I have a still unknown form of an Eidetic memory, but even that doesn’t fit entirely. I’m certainly not a savant and I don’t have an emotional memory. So, I don’t fit any category.” Harry ranted, and it felt so good to finally let that some off her heart.

The constant examinations had grated on her mind as a child and besides her closest friends and the Dursleys nobody knew about it. Even Teddy had always asked her random questions about days and had tested her if she was able to recall it. He had then always giggled, and his hair had changed. She missed his carefree giggling and hoped that he would stay safe. She made a mental note to ask about him the next time Longbottom would Mirror call wit his aunt.

“So, if you’re not here to tell me when you’re contacting Augusta again, then I suggest you leave me alone.”

“Next rotation after your shift, we’ll establish the contact again.” Longbottom answered her and obviously wanted to say more but was interrupted.

“Are those two annoying you, Midshipman?” Harry looked up and spotted the Ensign, who had worked her station during the battle again.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle, Sir. Thank you.” She answered barely seeing through her tired eyelids.  “Just a little spat among childhood enemies.”

“Childhood enemies, hu?” the female with dark shiny hair behind him said cheerfully and Harry winced. Why were they all so cheerful? 

“That’s something I want to hear.” She remarked as she sat down next to Harry and the others of the group followed her example. Why were they sitting with her little group? They were officers. Of the lowest rank, but still. Their part of the mess hall was a bit fancier.  From her physical appearance she reminded her of a very cheerful Cho Chang, who she had quite liked during her brief time in Hogwarts. Harry checked the chronometer. She would be able to sit with them for about ten minutes, but then she would have to hurry to get her pepper up potion from her locker or fall asleep during her shift. That was something that she certainly couldn’t do. She didn’t dare to imagine what Thrawn would do to her if she fell asleep during her shift.

“There is not much to tell, Sir.” She told them. “When families are trying to force friendships, it ends in tragedy.”

“You didn’t try making friends.” Longbottom defended himself. “You were a bloody menace. The prank on your brother’s seventh birthday was just cruel. I still had nightmares for years and it’s the first thing that comes to mind, when thinking about you.”

 She smirked dangerously in remembrance and one of the officers snickered at her mean gleam. Her brother had wet himself during the scare and she suspected that Neville had probably done so as well. “That was one of my best pranks on my birthday.” She smirked. “And everyone on that party, minus Remus deserved it.”

“What did you do?” the Cho Chang doppelganger asked her eagerly and Harry explained it leaving out or circumscribing the magical parts and the cultural references behind it. To Longbottom’s dismay she had them in stitches as they were holding their bellies at the end of her narration.

“That wasn’t funny.” He grumbled which started the laughter anew but looking at the Chronometer she quickly excused herself and was quite surprised when the Cho Chang doppelganger told her “See you around.”  Apparently, not all Imperials were as obnoxious as Ensign Danti. Ok. She had to admit Commander Eli Vanto wasn’t either, but he was annoying her sometimes. Thrawn just scared her, although he had always been professional towards her.

After knocking a pepper-up potion from her locker down she finally felt ready to start her shift at the bridge. She still felt a bit sluggish, but at least her tiredness was gone.

“I think that Midshipman Potter needs a Commlink.” Vanto stated as the doors to the turbolift hissed open.  “She is harder to track down than a Diathim and it would spare me quite some time tracing her steps.”

“Indeed.” Thrawn confirmed still analysing her detailed report on his data pad. “an interesting comparison.”

When they stepped in they realized that the very person of their conversation was already inside the lift and stood attention when she saw them, but she stood so rigidly and appeared to prefer to merge with the grey durasteel walls of the lift.

Vanto noted that she had a strained look on her face, but he could not detect any sign of tiredness. The time stamp of her report had indicated that she had sent it shortly before he had gotten up, which meant that she had worked through the night.

“At ease, Midshipman.” Thrawn remarked calmly which seemed to relax her just a little, but not very much. Thrawn still scared her and he could not blame her. Especially, as he probably wasn’t as innocent in creating her fear. Thrawn was an imposing figure on its own, but he had not been able to resist teasing her with several Legends of Chiss which he had heard on Lysatra, which might have increased her fear. But she would need to get over it if she wanted to progress.

“Midshipman, Potter.” Thrawn addressed her again his eyes still on her report. “Very detailed report, however I find the implications of your flagged cases rather disconcerting. Are you sure that those weren’t suicides?”

Vanto’s head shot up. What had he missed?! Not suicides? He had not been able to look at her report as he had found it quite lengthy and he was used to lengthy reports, and inventory lists, yet her length had pushed even his boundaries. She seemed to be obsessed with even the smallest detail. But Thrawn had apparently already studied it. He sighed. Of course, he had.

“Quite sure, Sir.” She answered calmly, but her slightly shaking hands behind her back were speaking a different story.

The lift came to a halt and opened to the bridge and Midshipman Potter squirmed at her place as Thrawn did not bulge from his position and the young woman seemed to mentally fight with herself how to approach the subject on how to get passed him or if he would step out of the lift. Their destination had been the bridge, but Thrawn must have changed his mind.  Although it would have been a breach in protocol stepping out of the lift before his superior he decided to take pity on her and asked Thrawn: “We are not stepping out onto the Bridge, Sir?”

Thrawn finally coming out of his musing shook his head. “No, we’ll return to my office. This takes precedence.”

Vanto saw the Midshipman wince and probably realizing that she would be late for her shift and everyone on the bridge knew how unpopular she had become to her crew.

“Sir?” the young woman addressed Thrawn with slightly shaking voice.  “My shift starts in a few minutes and if I don’t show up…”

“Then Ensign Danti will know that you’ve been summoned to my office.” Thrawn interrupted her calmly. “Commander Vanto will inform her.” 

Minutes later, they were standing in Thrawn’s office which had received two additional items since the last time the young woman had been in it.

“You said that several of those supposed suicides were none and you explained it in your report, but those explanations seemed a bit rushed. Please explain why you believe them to be murders.”

Eli Vanto’s breath hitched. Murders?! On a Star Destroyer. Surely somebody would have caught onto that. Or maybe not.

The young woman took a deep breath and Vanto could detect a slight change into her demeanour. The scared young woman disappeared and was replaced by something else. Something more professional.

“Ahm. Yes, Sir. But I would need the pictures for that.” She told him and Thrawn tipped something onto the holo-cube and several pictures appeared before them. Vanto had to fight back bilge rising from his stomach.

“There are several indications that these were not suicides. The first one being their locations. They have been found hanged in locations that are not easily accessible by low level personnel. Second, they are hanging, but the way they are hanging they could not have hanged themselves. There is no chair, box or something else they could have stood on and jumped from.

Third, as you can see the sling is crafted in a way that would have made it extremely painful to die. Only few people know how to knot a sling in a way that they break their neck when they hang themselves. These women all have a sling that would have taken several minutes for them to suffocate and none of them share the characteristic marks of that.

“What marks would that be?” Vanto asked curiously.

“Scratch marks on their neck. Many people, who hang themselves… No, actually all of them who have tried to hang themselves with a sling that really suffocates them instead of breaking their necks are trying to get out of their situation again, which is shown in the scratch marks around their necks at along the way of their slings.” She explained calmly and Vanto wondered how she knew so much about it.  “And they do not look suffocated. Their faces almost seem serene, which is atypical to people who have hung themselves. And there is another interesting detail that is missing.”

She pointed to several of the pictures. “None of these women show any discharge.”

“Discharge?” Vanto became more confused by the second and the young woman nodded gravely.

“When people hang themselves, the sphincter stops working the moment their death sets in and as you can imagine it isn’t a pretty picture.” He nodded. It made sense somehow. Thrawn was still silent listening to her reasoning.

“And there is something else that’s interesting. When you look at the women you can see that they are all sharing similar features, hair colour and statue. So, the unsub has a specific type.”

“Unsub?” Thrawn finally cut in enquiring about that unfamiliar term.

“On Earth, Terra” she corrected herself. “Unsub stands for Unknown Subject and is often used in law enforcement.” Thrawn nodded and indicated her to continue.

“If you zoom in to the victims’ hair you can see a small golden clip in their hair. They all have the same one. If you look closely at the pictures these clips are not just similar to each other. It’s the same one. You can see that one of the sides is clipped or jarred in a way that had to be accidental.

Thrawn changed the parameters and zoomed into each picture scrutinizing them closely. With his right hand on his chin. He seemed to come to the same conclusion and nodded. “Continue.” He ordered.

“As to why nobody has made the connection before. That’s where it gets tricky and shows that the unsub is quite clever. The victims were all found in different jurisdictions which only people with special permit or higher rank can enter. Some were found in closed off areas of the crew quarters, some in closed off quarters of the officer’s deck and some in the storage hangar and some in the combat personnel living section. That’s at least three different jurisdictions and the only people vaguely hearing about those incidents in their immediate surroundings are those that are from the same jurisdiction than the victims: Army, Navy and Civil.  And hiding those bodies among the suicide rate is not that difficult then.”

“Can you find the murderer with this gathered information?” Thrawn asked staring the young woman down, but curiously she did not bulge one bit. Instead, to Vanto’s surprise, she shook her head. After that explanation he had half expected her to present the murderer’s identity to them.

“I do have quite some information, but these can’t be his first victims. The entire … ritual, if you will, is too well developed. There need to be more victims somewhere, but I couldn’t find any. I would need to find the first victim, which usually has a personal connection to the Unsub.”

Vanto replayed all the information in his head again until he could focus what last sentence reminded her of. “That sounds suspiciously like some sort of procedure or protocol, which you are used to follow.”  He locked eyes with Thrawn who inclined his head approvingly.

“Well, it is.” She defended herself. “At least on my planet, yet it is important to follow in order to catch the real unsub and not someone who’s innocent.”

“Very well.” Thrawn mused calmly with his deep voice. “Let’s test that protocol. We’ll be arriving on Coruscant in 96.5 hours. You have until then to catch the murderer. Meanwhile your duty on the bridge is suspended. You will answer directly to me or to Commander Vanto.

Thrawn handed her a Commlink which she took solemnly.

* * *

 

After the young Midshipman had left his office with Commander Vanto Thrawn sat down at his desk and keyed the code for Colonel Yularen’s direct comm. He had forwarded the report to the Head of ISB and the High Command, yet the sections about the murders was still missing from it. He knew that he had to be careful. Vanto had told him once in the Royal Academy, when they still had been cadets, that there had been a joke that Coruscanti officers, coming from influential core families could get away with everything. He had no intention of letting this person get away and he had confidence that Vanto would make sure that the Midshipman would be discrete in her investigation.

The fact that she had not found any “first” victim yet could indicate that the murderer had had this first victim on previous post.

Perhaps Yularen had heard of similar incidents, but he doubted it. If not, then he would only shortly fill him in what was going on and ask him to not alert any other people about it as he did not know how well connected the murderer was.

And in letting her find the murderer he could test his theory if she had some kind powers, as he suspected from what he had observed about her and what he had been able to learn from her diaries and notebooks, without being able to read her script. Her wooden stick, that the people of her planet called wand was another indicator that she was more than she seemed to be. The paintings and murals he had analysed from her planet certainly pointed at that direction. But did this mean that her gift was somehow related to the legendary powers of the Jedi? Or were her powers more like those of the witches of Dathomir. He had compared some of their available artwork to the scribbling and drawing of his Midshipman and although there were some darker undertones in her drawings, they rather spoke of loss and anger than of hunger for power.

One way or the other, she would be a useful tool and he would certainly not waste any hidden valuable talent.


	12. Working together

 

Privet Drive 4, Surrey

_Remus had pestered his friends long enough to go looking for their daughter after she had not returned after dark. Now they had checked the small house Harriet lived in during her school years. It was abandoned but Remus had smelled that she must have been inside earlier. When nobody had opened the front door, they had used the Alohomora spell to enter. James and Sirius were amazed at all the muggle technology, but Remus' gaze was drawn to the photos. Harriet was among them. They couldn't be that old as she shared them with a boy which he assumed to be her cousin. She genuinely looked happy. One picture was showing her aunt Petunia hugging her with her right arm, with a winter landscape in the background, another one showed her next to her cousin, who was in some sort of martial arts tunic and proudly presenting his cup indicating third place. Another picture showed Harriet with two other cheeky looking boys holding up three blue ribbons indicating that they had one first price as a group. As they were wearing their school uniforms he assumed that they had won a school competition. Another one was a family portrait, clearly shot by a professional photographer which showed Harriet as part of their family. No wonder that she had hated coming back to Potter Manor._

_"They have no magic and the house is still cleaner than mine with a house elf." Sirius mused. "How do they do it?" James chuckled and patted his shoulders in understanding. "No idea, Padfoot."_

_Remus followed the faint scent, climbing up the stairs with two creaking steps and found himself in a very tidy room with shelves, a wardrobe and shelves partly filled with books, folders and other instruments on his left, a desk in front of the window with a lamp on it's left and a neatly made bed with lilac bedsheets on the right. Hidden the behind door Remus spotted the familiar black suitcase which indicated that she had been here, but there was now indication where she could be. He stepped towards the desk and saw countless jotters neatly sorted. One was open, and he saw the familiar calculations which he had seen her do in the garden of Potter manor. When he looked at the wall above her bed he saw a pinboard with a timetable of her last semester, which surprised him. It seemed that she did not only have regular classes but was also in quite a few additional school clubs and classes. He chuckled when he read "debate club". No wonder she had given her parents a run for their money debating with them._

_Every school day started at nine and went through to 6pm with all the additional school groups and subjects. Was she doing all her homework when she returned home late in the evening or did she do it in her rare free lessons? Next to the timetable was a list of all the tests and exams during the year and references to a "study plan". She was organized for a seven-year-old. The rest of the pinboard was covered with photos of her with the two cheeky boys, who looked to be up to no good and in one or two pictures Harriet was showing the same dangerous glint in her eyes. It seemed that those two were her friends, even though the did look a bit older than her. Others were photos of her and the Dursleys in a Zoo, at the sea, at a lake fishing or hiking. One photo seemed like she was in some sort of music class talking to the teacher while holding a small violin in her hand. Her gaze however seemed a bit confused. But she had pinned it, which meant that she had liked it for some reason. He touched the photos and accidentally brushed the timetable aside and realised. There was something underneath it. He carefully lifted the timetable and realized a list of names, addresses and numbers. Didn't the Muggles have some contraption that needed numbers to reach each other. He turned towards the shelf and took a college block and ripped a blank page from it and with a flick of his wand and the spell "copio" he quickly copied it onto the blank page._

_"Found her, Moony?" James asked finally entering the room looking around, staring blankly at the photos and Remus hoped that he would realize that they had none of her in the manor. He contemplated stealing one of the photos and putting it next to the other ones that were moving so that they could realize who they should be missing during the year, but he knew that Harriet would surely find out and not be happy. Maybe he should contact the Dursley's in Autumn and ask for one. Yes, he mentally nodded to himself. He would do that._

_James still showed no reaction as he was taking all in and Sirius was still mesmerized with the muggle things._

_"She looks the opposite of how she does in Potter Manor." Remus stated pointing towards the photos, but James just shrugged his shoulders._

_"She doesn't look different to me." Sirius squinting his eyes looking at the pictures nodded in agreement._

_"Yes, she does." Remus declared. "She looks happy. I haven't seen her smile once at her home."_

_"How exactly does that help us in finding her. Did you find something or not?" James asked impatiently._

_Remus didn't answer yet and pointed towards her timetable. "Look at that. That timetable is madness. It would be difficult for an older child, teenager or even student, but she seems to do just fine. I certainly wouldn't have been able to do this every day."_

_"Yes, nice" James commented without even looking at it. "We need to find her." Remus frowned. So, James did care about his daughter?_

_"Well, I don't know where she is, but one of them might." He answered showing the copied paper with the numbers. "I believe that these are the numbers of her class mates houses and she could have gone to one of their houses. We should start with the ones closest to this address."_

_"Those are twenty-five names! We can't go to them all." Sirius exclaimed looking at the sheet._

_"Don't be silly, Padfoot." James laughed. We have to find a phone and make the calls. There was one downstairs." He trailed off when two police cars stopped directly at the house they were currently in and went to the door._

_"Nope, can't use the one downstairs. We should get out of here. Let's meet back at my place." Sirius said and apparated which caused Remus to flinch. James followed, and Remus quickly did the same._

* * *

 

 _The Potters were in the Ministry using one of the phones to call the other families, but so far, they had only spoken to staff of these families and had constantly been told, that they should try calling Antony Strong's or Reynold Palmer's family. When they had called the Strongs, they had been informed that they were on holiday in Italy. That only left the Palmer's in Cardiff, but Remus doubted that she was there._ _It was too far away from Surrey._

* * *

 

_"Yes." The male voice in the phone answered. "Harriet came a few hours ago." Remus exhaled silently. How had she managed to do that? Had she used one of the public Floo Networks?_

_"We are currently eating dinner. Maybe it would be best if she stayed with us for a few days." The voice on the other line said._

_"No, I'm going to get her as soon as possible." James angrily shouted into the headpiece._

_"Please calm down, Sir. You're calling from the London area. It's too late to come to pick her up today and we won't stay awake until you are here."_

_James was reading himself to rebuke, but Remus tapped him onto the shoulder and hissed. "Muggle." To remind him that he wouldn't be able to explain how he could turn up there in a matter of seconds. James nodded. "Alright, then tomorrow."_

_"Tomorrow is possible, but Raymond was excited to have his best friend here. He wants to show her the city and they will go on a Torchwood scavenger hunt tomorrow. Would it be possible for her to stay for a few days? A little distance might help calming down the situation, whatever has happened."_

_"No, I'll pick her up tomorrow." James growled into the headphone. "James, what he suggests is a great idea."_

_"Alright." The other voice sighed. "You can pick her up in the late afternoon after the scavenger hunt, but …" he paused and continued sternly. "I will only let her come back with you if I'm absolutely assured, that she won't be in any danger with you."_

_"Fine. Danger. The only danger in my house is Harriet herself." James ground out._

_There was another deep sigh by Mr. Palmer as if he was fighting himself not to say anything that could complicate the situation further. "We will discuss anything further tomorrow. Good night, Mr. Potter." He disconnected the call and James looked stooped at the phone._

_"How did she get to Cardiff all on her own?" Sirius asked seemingly impressed._

_"He said that she arrived an hour ago. That means that she must have used Muggle transport, which means that she has spent the majority of the day driving to Surrey and then a good few hours to Cardiff. She must be exhausted."_

**_In Cardiff_ **

_The tall man with brown hair turned after putting the phone down and shook his head._

_"That's it. I like your uncle better than your father." He remarked watching the girl's happiness drain away and her shoulders slumped when he continued. "They are going to pick you up tomorrow."_

_She just nodded picking at her food, which she had enjoyed a few minutes ago. He locked eyes with his beautiful dark wife who nodded, and she said._

_"Whatever happens tomorrow. You should know that you are always welcome here." She patted the girls hand._

_"Of course, you are." Their son affirmed looking slightly worried._

_"Thank you." She mumbled sighing sadly._

_Well, she was their son's best friend and he would make sure that nothing would happen to her, but his personal alarm clocks were telling him that something was wrong with that family. Raymond had told him some things already, but he would personally take a closer look the next day._

_Before she had come to their school, Raymond and Anthony Howard had been fierce competitors or school nemesis, but Harriet had managed to befriend both and bring them together in friendship. Now, according to the Rupert Giles, the headmaster of the school, who was a close friend of his, the trio was inseparable and caused trouble._

_Rupert had told him jokingly that the competition between the two had stopped them from blowing the school to pieces. Now with the three minds combined he woke each day wondering what they would do next. But luckily Harriet seemed to be the voice of reason that prevented it. But even she had her moments._

_Tomorrow would be an interesting day._

* * *

 

St. Mungos:

Astoria had taken another turn to the worse and had to be magically intubated to keep her alive. They wouldn't even have realized this had Scorpius not made them aware of this by screaming and shouting at them that something was wrong with Astoria. He had just known. Time was running out and it had only been a day after they had last been at hospital. The curse was working rather fast and even the Greengrasses confirmed that it hadn't been that fast the last time. Now the family was in the office of the two healers again.

"We have made your wife a priority and fast tracked all the laboratory work, but we would also need the DNA of her parents." The healer uncomfortably told them.

"We had hoped that by comparing your son's DNA to your wife's that we might find out how the curse changed it's setup, but for some reason we could not find any strain of DNA that matched with your son and your wife. Which is rather odd, not to say impossible. We therefore believe at the moment, that the curse is rather aggressive and has radically changed her DNA setup up to a degree that has never been seen before. The only way to repair it would be through using the strains from her parents. And we already confirmed that he is your son, Mr. Malfoy."

Walpurga shuffled uncomfortably and evaded every gaze coming from the Malfoys. Could it be that she knew more about what could have cause the curse to reactivate?

"Would mine help too?" Daphne asked with shaking voice clearly afraid for her dear sister, who she hadn't seen for some time. When she had come today she had explained that her parents had asked her to come, but Draco could see that she was worried. No matter what their dispute had been, they loved each other dearly.

"Every family DNA helps us." The medi-witch told them exhaling, watching Scorpius closely. Once in a while she changed her gaze towards the Greengrass family as if she was comparing him to them. Draco did not like it one bit and held his son sitting on his lap tightly as if to protect him. Something was going on.

"Then of course we will provide… What is it called again?" Daphne asked.

"DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid" Draco explained astonishing the two healers in the room. "We all have it and inherit parts of it from our ancestors. It's an innovative approach." He avoided to tell them that it was a Muggle one, but would they really disapprove of this when it could potentially safe Astoria's life?

"How long does she still have?" Lucius Malfoy asked stoically.

"Unfortunately, we can't make an accurate estimate. Yesterday we would have said a few months, but with today's incident all bets are off." The medi-witch told them.

"Is there anything else we could do?" Narcissa asked brushing her grand-son's unruly hair.

"All the things we have talked about yesterday." The healer answered her and frowned at the youngest Malfoy, whose eyes now stared at the blank wall as he was waving somebody they couldn't see.

"Scorpius?" Draco hugged him tighter. "Who are you waving at?"

"Can't you see her?" the small boy asked. "It's Harriet! She is trying to catch a very bad man."

Narcissa's breath hitched while Walpurga suddenly burst into tears.

* * *

 

Harry sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. She could swear that there was that little boy again that was happily waving at her. Now it was her, who was apparently losing her wits. She had no idea why she was seeing the little boy, and although it hurt her severely seeing him she could not make it stop. The little boy looked like a little version of Draco, yet with more unruly hair.

She remembered the day when she had found out that she was pregnant although she had taken every protection possible. Draco had proposed a few months before and she had reluctantly agreed under the condition that she didn't want to marry in the next few years or have any children anytime soon. They sometimes hadn't seen each other for weeks and their daily schedules had been to hectic. Well, hers had been. She had had too much to do with her company, which she had run with her two best friends, her charity and her little band.

A child would not have been possible in her hectic life at that moment. But unfortunately, she had underestimated the Slytherin slyness. Draco had manipulated her pills and as he had admitted later and had had fed her fertility potions. She had been too trusting and too blinded by love. Her two overprotective friends Antony and Raymond had been right from the beginning to not trust him and they had been her pillars of strength after Draco had simply discarded of her after the worst time of her live where she would have needed his support. She had no idea why he had acted that way after they had been together for years.

She squinted her eyes, but the vision didn't not break, and she took a deep breath and forced herself to ignore the little child that was enthusiastically waving at her. She had a job to do.

"Can't you see her?" the small boy asked. "It's Harriet! She is trying to catch a bad man." Her breath hitched. Now she could even hear him, and she forced back tears. _Merlin!_ She had a job to do or there would be another victim.

"Did you find something, Midshipman?" Vanto enquired standing up from his seat behind his desk. He also had a tired look on the his face.

They had spent hours looking at more similarities between the victims and to the Commander's dismay she had turned his office into a briefing room and all the information of their victims was displayed next to each other, when they were alone in the room. They had read through dozens of accounts and statements and done background research on the displayed women and Harry had established a comfort zone of their unsub, which unfortunately still was too big to narrow it down. They then had proceeded to question several of the colleagues who had worked closely with the deceased.

"I might have." She covered her mental slip cursing her overactive mind and registered that the small boy was finally gone.

He stretched almost imperceptibly and went around the desk to stand next to her and the projected information, which was projected next to each other.

"Several things." She pointed at their first victim. "Kanchana Dalitso was a civilian technician that was found in the combat personnel living section, which only higher-ranking officers can enter. The jurisdiction was the army branch. The second victim Cora Cunty was a female stormtrooper that was found in the crew quarters of the navy personnel. She pointed to the third victim. "Thalima Shoba was a navy ensign and was found in the civilian crew quarters. Each victim is found in the jurisdiction where the next victim comes from."

"Your right. That would mean that the next one…" he checked the list of their victims and saw that she had already added the additional information to her board. "the next one is going to be in the army's jurisdiction again." Harry nodded solemnly. They could catch him in the act and if her calculations were correct he would probably strike within the next few rotations, but they didn't have that much time.

"There is also something else. She tapped several codes on her datapad and laid the pictures over each other."

The Commander frowned. "They are identical?"

She shook her head. "Not exactly. They are hanged in the exact same position. Their clothes are all arranged identically, their hair, with that clip are rearranged and even the rope is tied identically every single time. He is very meticulous."

"You have established that it is a male?" Vanto enquired and Harriet nodded. "Yes. Based on the way the victims were found it would be very surprising if the unsub was female. It requires a lot of strength to position the bodies the way they are. As these bodies are burnt already and none of the doctors in the hospital wards have performed an autopsy I can't know for sure what they were killed with. But from the pictures I can conclude that they were hanged post mortem."

"That doesn't really help us finding him." Vanto sighed. "And they all were model citizens and employees of the empire according to their files. So, I don't know how the unsub selects them besides their physical similarities."

Harry frowned. That's not what she had read. But she had restored some background information that had been retracted by somebody that was higher up. She had almost missed it, but the numbering of the entries had been off. "Actually, that's not true. There were entries of complaints, but somebody has deleted them."

"How would you know that?" the Commander asked shaking his head.

Harry grinned. "The pedan…" she stopped herself before she could say something she would regret. "ahm the documentation system of the Empire makes sure that nothing is ever truly deleted. There are always older versions of the files swarming the ship's computer system. They just have to be recovered."

"You sliced the ships central computing system again." Vanto shook his head with a knowing grin.

"There was a problem and I needed a solution. Kanchana Dalitso's deleted entry had been logged under the code 4235.5. She had defended herself against the accusation of the defection of a family member. Cora Cunty's entry 5683.2 said that she complained about the set up of the helmet, which makes it difficult to see through as it does not fit every trooper perfectly and makes it hard to aim. The entries for Lila Mavuto and Bala I'timad, our victims four and five, are both identical only that they had been "covorting" with each other. I can't recall any regulation in the empire that is against homosexuality."

"There is none, but relationships aboard the ships are frowned upon." Vanto answered with his right hand pensively on his chin. "But the empire has some breeding programs in systems that are underpopulated with humans."

Harry shuddered and shook herself as revulsion was washing over her. "That is gross. Pardon my language, Sir." That idea was truly hideous, but if the Unsub came from such an area, he could see homosexuality as a threat.

"The sixth victim Monifa Izar, was reported by a co-worker because she had casually suggested letting non-humans become part of the empire's army and navy. So, it is possible that the unsub not only saw the physical similarity, but also their complaints, habits or ideas, as a potential threat to the empire's structure. A threat that he saw fit to eliminate."

"Interesting. What about victim number seven Tariro Sakshi?" Vanto asked nodding towards their latest victim. "What did she do?"

"Nothing that I could find at first, but her murder seemed to be more personal to the Unsub than the others." Harriet stated bringing the picture closer to them. "Look at her wrists and her face, Sir."

She zoomed in to her wrist and Vanto leaned forward squinting his eyes. "That looks like a bruise that was partially hidden by her sleeve." Harry nodded and zoomed to her face, which was heavy with make-up, and stood in stark contrast to her profile picture and looked a bit swollen.

"She was beaten?" Vanto exhaled surprised.

Harry nodded. "Yes. This was personal, and I think I know why. She was supposedly a general technician, who could be used in many sectors of the ship to make general repairs and her open file is rather unspectacular. But, she has a file in one of the internal sever levels that only the ISB has access to. I used a mirror code, which reroutes the data for twenty-four hours before the ISB realizes that somebody has accessed the file."

Vanto sighed. Midshipman Potter would get in trouble and she was dragging him down too. On the other hand, the ISB would be very interested in a talented slicer like her. He could only hope that Thrawn's influence in the High Command could protect them. Maybe making her Thrawn's aide after he was on his personal diplomatic mission, wouldn't be such a great idea. There were several things she could do and get Thrawn into further crosshairs with the High Command and they were slicing their knives already and would latch onto any failure, as minimal as it were, caused by him or one of his underlings. He would need to talk to Thrawn about his worries.

"She was an undercover ISB agent. So, her death should have ruffled some feathers, but apparently there weren't any. It is possible that she made the connection, because there are several notes that indicate that she was in all the areas shortly after the victims were found. That means that she was a personal threat to the Unsub and he had to take her out."

"That's …" Vanto was interrupted by the chiming of the entrance that indicated that there was somebody at the door. Vanto deactivated the projector and opened the durasteel doors.

Two familiar stormtroopers, which Harry could identify through her sense to be Longbottom and Colin, entered and stood attention.

"Troopers LS-2086 and LS-2087 are here to inform you that Crewman Baila Panaká has gone missing. We found her broken necklace in the turbolift of section C and can't find her anywhere."

Harry froze. That was a severe deviation from the unsubs schedule, but Baila had been stabilized so she couldn't have tried to kill herself. Now, it seemed that she had somehow alerted the unsub that she was onto him and he was retaliating. She needed to catch him in the act and safe her patient. She could not lose the young woman!


	13. Gotscha!

_“I’m here to pick up our daughter.” James greeted the cautious couple opening their doors._

_“Well, that’s not a proper greeting, is it?” Mrs. Palmer remarked. “Your daughter can do this much better. Shall we start again?”_

_She was met with two gaping parents of the sweet young child she had gotten to know over the last few months. She had certainly learned quite a lot in this one day._

_“Usually a meeting starts with a greeting, then we exchange pleasantries and talk about the weather and then you can tell us why you are here even though we know exactly why you’ve come.” She explained and the red-headed woman which she clearly identified as the girl’s mother defended herself._

_“We know how to interact with people, thank you very much. Can you please fetch out our daughter now?” She asked sighing heavily. “We’re on the clock.”_

_“No.” Mr. Palmer answered. “They are currently revising their Old Greek conjugations for their Greek debate club. Why don’t you come in for a cuppa?”_

_He wanted to take the Potters through the question ringer to get a better understanding of their relationship, but it wouldn’t be easy as he could understand Harriet’s frustration with the two._

* * *

 

„How did you know that she’s missing?” Vanto asked and Longbottom answered automatically.

“Midshipman Potter asked us to keep an eye on Ms. Panaká in case she would be unable to so. So, we did, but she disappeared shortly before the end of her shift and wasn’t found since.”

“Then how do you know that the necklace was Crewman Panaká’s?” Vanto frowned. “Jewellery is against regulations.”

Creevey nodded and pulled something out from behind him and held it towards Harry and Vanto. It was a little winged, female humanoid figurine brandishing a crescent moon-shaped symbol dangling from a simple silver chain.

“That’s hers alright.” She said wondering how Longbottom and Creevy knew that it belonged to Baila. Her mind racing and mentally recalling all the information that had been displayed in the office minutes earlier. Her heartbeat accelerating making it difficult for her to breath. No, she needed to stay calm. “She usually wears it under her overall. It’s Shiraya, an ancient moon goddess that is worshipped by the people of her home planet.” She explained.

“Ok.” Harry took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Panicking would not help Baila.

 “He is meticulous, very compulsive. He has strayed from his usual path. Which means that he is under tremendous pressure right now. Deviating further from his usual course is very unlikely.”

She took another deep steading breath. “He’ll take her to the army officer barracks.” Her hands wandered to an inexistent gun but realized that she had none because her rank didn’t permit one.

 “I suggest that the engaging teams should set their blasters to stun, because he is likely trying to goat them into killing him.”

“Understood.” Vanto quickly spun around exercising a perfect military turn and swiftly keyed his holo-projector informing Thrawn of the new developments and her recommendations.

Then, everything was happening quickly as Vanto handed her an additional blaster which he had kept in one of his drawers. Apparently, he had seen her movement earlier. A moment later the sirens flared indicating that they were under attack, but Harry suspected that Thrawn had ordered this drill to confuse the assailant.

With Eli Vanto, Longbottom and Creevy in tow they were racing past other personnel and troops towards the turbo lift. Inside, Harriet mentally prepared herself and contemplated on what she might find when they engaged him and on what she could possibly say to manipulate him into letting Baila go. He would most certainly defend his actions.  That the young woman fit into his physical prey scheme wasn’t very reassuring. She checked if she had her blaster on stun and opened her mind and lowered her mental defences to searched for Baila although she hated this. It made her vulnerable and too much information was rushing through her mind. Luckily, most of the personnel only was white noise to her senses after a few seconds. She could sense a tense Vanto next to her and two very familiar presences behind her, which almost caused her to throw her mental defences back into place. But she couldn’t, or she wouldn’t be able to find them in time and although the troopers may have been ordered to search. It would take too long, and every second counted. After all she had no idea what he was killing the victims with.  But she assumed that it was some sort of toxic compound or maybe a spice overdose to cover his tracks, perhaps?

The lift stopped, and they quickly stepped out of it ignoring protocol only to be greeted by Longbottom’s and Creevv’s squad. The squad leader shortly nodded a greeting at her.

“Have you found the discovered any indication where the missing individual might be held?” Vanto asked and Harry only registered this barely as the Squad leader answered, while the other two troopers stood in line.  Her focus was drawn to a very terrified and shaking presence somewhere in the labyrinth of barracks and officer’s rooms. She was heavily projecting her fear. It was Baila!

She put her head to side, focused on her patient’s presence. Her anguish as something pierced her arm. _Shit!_  Her eyes flew open again. She had not time to lose!

“This way!” she shouted and without informing her commander further she simply took off towards Baila’s location. The confused Commander and the Squad behind her. The troopers in their barracks hastily jumped out of her way. As she quickly turned and twisted through narrow corridors and edges until she came to a closed door of an officer’s quarter and to an abrupt halt breathing heavily.

Baila was inside. She could sense it, and something was already beginning to cloud her mind. She could sense another person with her and she hastily checked the door if there was a way how to enter, but the panel looked destroyed. She cursed angrily.

Boots on the Durasteel floor told her that Vanto and the squad had caught up with her, slightly out of breath.

“They’re inside.” She informed him examining the door and the panel closely. Vanto looked slightly confused. “But the door is jammed.”

“We’ll have to cut it open.” The squad leader said matter of factly, but Harry paced in front of the door.

“That’ll take too long.” She mentioned still pacing. Vanto was already ordering a tech team to come down to their location to open it, but Harry could feel that they didn’t have time for that.

She could sense Baila slowly slipping away. She knew that she could not perform any magic, but in these circumstance, there was absolutely no other chance. She put her blaster into her left hand and went for the panel again.

With another deep breath she gathered the magic swirling within her core and drew a backward S onto the panel murmuring angrily: “al-LOH-ha-MOHR-ah” while letting magic flow through her. She could feel Longbottom’s shock as he certainly recognized what she just had done. The door jumped open and she had to duck out of the way as a plaster several blaster shots came towards her direction and Vanto and the squad quickly dispersed and took cover out of range from the killer within. She unintendedly blocked one with a protections spell and hoped that nobody had seen it.

“Blasters to stun.” She sternly reminded the trooper squad and quickly entered holding the invisible protection barrier in place.

“Midshipman!” Vanto called after her not quite believing that she could be so bold or from his perspective stupid to enter.

“Get out!” a familiar voice ordered, and she recognized the other thorn in her existence: She should have guessed:

Agent Colburn. So, her radar hadn’t been off. There had been a reason why she hadn’t like him. Her subconscious had seemingly figured it out before her mind. But this man resembled nothing like the tidy and proper military man she had known. He was sweating vigorously, his gaze wild and erratic. Glistening sweat was rushing down his face.

She put her hands in the air and pointed her blaster upwards towards the ceiling to indicate that she would not use it, but he still trained his towards her with trembling hands.

 But Harry’s gaze was drawn to Baila who was breathing heavily as she was prepped up against the ISB agent. She clearly struggled to stand, cold sweat was glistening on her unhealthily pale face.  Harry knew that she had to act quickly.

“Let her go, Agent Colburn.” She acidly cold ordered him, but he only scoffed.

“You’re giving me orders now, Midshipman? You forget your place. Somebody must maintain the order in the empire. People like you are threatening it.”

“And you are doing a marvellous job at that.” She outwardly calm answered while the storm in her mind raged on. “But Crewman Panaká is innocent. So, please. I’m begging you. Let. Her. Go.”

“Beg harder!” The agent’s gaze was drawn to all the other blasters turned against him who had emerged cautiously after he had stopped his firing and a lopsided grin spread in his face.

“Initially, Crewman Panaká may have been innocent, but her mind is already infected by your treasonous ideas. You’ve turned her into a threat to the integrity of our empire. You turn everybody into enemies of the empire. I’m loyal to our Empire! You can’t arrest me for that.” He laughed humourlessly his blaster still trained on her. “They’ll see that I was right in doing this.”

“Yes.” Harry appeased him coldly. “They will, but I’m the trouble maker. Not Crewman Panaká. She is one of the most loyal people I know. Her parents work for the empire. Her uncle was a Moff, who was brutally murdered by Saw Guerrera himself because he couldn’t be turned against the empire. Do you really believe that Baila Panaká would ever betray the empire? She wouldn’t.” Baila’s pulse was getting weaker and her mind was slowly turning even more nebulous. But Harry could sense her mind spike at the mentioning of her family. _Hold on Baila!_

The troopers and Vanto were very tensely listening to them their blasters trained on the murderous ISB agent.

Harry took a deep breath and continued evenly lowering her voice slightly. _Let’s see if my guess is right_.  “Let. Her. Go. She’s not your sister.”

“What did you just say?” Colburn jumped, letting go of Baila who tumbled to the floor with a groan, and almost lost his blaster in surprise. So, she had been right. His surprise was palpable and his increasing fear. He was suddenly afraid of her?

Harry didn’t hesitate. Quickly, she readjusted her blaster again, while letting go of her magical barrier and stunned agent Colburn, who dropped dead to the ground. She quickly took two big strides and kneed next to Baila, who fought to stay awake. Her eyelids fluttering, and Harry slapped her sharply on the cheek which resounded loudly in the small room and her eyes flew open again.

“Stay awake, Baila. Don’t you dare dying on me.” She growled and Baila nodded weakly smiling faintly.

“Creevy, give me that blanket and that pillow!” she ordered sternly the other familiar stormtrooper who quickly complied grumbling something against regulation, while she pulled Baila’s left arm to a ninety-degree angle from her body and straightened her left leg, took her right leg and locked it with her right hand by his left knee and slowly turned her towards her asking Baila simple questions which she answered mumbling incoherently. She put the pillow under her head and covered her body with the grey blanket.

Meanwhile Vanto kicked Colburn’s plaster away, put him in cuffs behind his back. After that he searched for any indication what he had given her.

Harry examined Baila’s hands, neck and throat for any entry wounds and found one between Baila’s index and middle finger.

Vanto pulled out a sharp tipped needle from one of the unconscious ISB agent’s pockets, which seemed to have hosted the toxin that was now slowly spreading through Baila’s body. In his other hand he held the familiar little golden hair clip.

Colburn slowly gained his consciousness, but it was too slowly for Harry and she jumped up and slapped his face twice, left and right and gripped his chin tightly forcing him to look at her.

“What did you inject her with?” she enquired calmly.

He emotionlessly smiled at her. “Something that has no antidote. It’s a weaponized form of Venenit shadaaga. There is no antidote.” Harry cursed and quickly went back to Baila’s side, who was breathing heavily and squat down. Checking her pulse at her throat. She would have to do magic to safe her. In front of a room full of troopers, Vanto and …

“Med Bay, this is Admiral Thrawn. Do you have an antidote against Venenit shadaaga that we could use?” a deep calm voice spoke behind them letting everyone in the room freeze.  

… And before Thrawn! Her eyes became wide. She couldn’t do that! How long had he been here without her realizing!?

“We do not, Sir. Came the swift answer through his com.” and Harry cursed, but remembered something.  She quickly changed her position that she was standing between Thrawn’s line of sight and Baila’s hand and touched Baila’s wound while gathering magic again murmuring: “ah-REST-oh mo-MEN-tum.”

“Longbottom.” She calmly addressed the stormtrooper ignoring her superiors in the room. She knew he hadn’t been that bad in Hogwarts after finally getting a new wand. He came to stand next to her and squat down.

“Can you do wandless magic?” she hissed to him using their maternal language and he confirmed it by nodding hesitantly.

“We can’t use magic in front of Thrawn.” He hissed back angrily, but she ignored him.

 “Ok. Take of your helmet off and keep her talking. Keep her in Arresto Momentum and make sure that she stays awake.” She ordered him switching back to Basic. “I have a Bezoar in my locker, which is probably the only thing that can safe her now.”

“Bloody hell!” Creevy exclaimed having overheard them. “Where did you get a Bezoar?”

“You have something in your locker that could safe Crewman Panaká?” Thrawn asked curiously stepping closer towards them. Still squad down next to Baila she turned her upper body partially around to look up to her blue skinned commander.

 “Yes. Possibly. I just need to retrieve it.” she answered him meeting those scary red eyes.

“Very well.” Thrawn inclined his head and gestured her towards the entrance of the door. She quickly stood up, while Longbottom took off his helmet and took her place to follow her orders and had to squeeze through quite a few squads waiting outside the room.

She hastily sprinted towards the turbolift, tackling several personnel which wasn’t particularly happy being mowed down by her hasty run. When she finally reached the turbo lift it wasn’t there yet. It seemed to take ages to come. She didn’t have time for that. Checking if anybody was watching she gathered magic and focused on her locker. She mentally imagined it in her mind clearly and felt the familiar pulling starting from her naval and her entry into the whirlwind of the apparition tunnel until she reappeared and ran straight into her locker and bounced back. Her head hurt as she gained her momentum. Surveillance be damned, she would erase the footage at the first chance she got. She hurriedly pried her locker open and summoned the Beozar from the bottom of her miniaturized suitcase and closed her locker door noisily.

Looked around if anybody was looking at her and repeated the action from before and appeared back on the same level she had come from and quickly run back with the dark stone in her hand. Swaying lightly. This time the personnel immediately jumped out of the way when they saw her.

A few seconds later she squeezed herself back through the waiting squads, into the room again past her blue skinned commander and slid the last centimetres towards Baila on her knees, not realizing that Thrawn checked his chronometer. Longbottom held Baila’s upper body upwards and Harry shoved the small bezoar into her throat panting heavily as mild anxiety started to washed over her.  

 _Please let it work!_ They held Baila like that for a few minutes and she checked her pulse on her throat and her wrist in regular intervals. Her own pulse was racing in her throat and chest. After about two minute she exhaled strongly and elated and patted Longbottom’s shoulder to thank him as her tense shoulders slumped. “Well done, Neville.”

Now it was over, and she was able to acknowledge all the feelings that she had prohibited herself to experience earlier was rushing into her. It felt almost overwhelming. 

Baila’s pulse was getting stronger, her breath deeper and some colour found its way back onto her pale cheeks. It had worked.

 

**Thrawn’s office**

“Baila Panaká will make a full recovery.” Thrawn informed the two people standing in front of his desk. Vanto grinned widely and elated. Not every situation turned out as well as that and he could see that the Midshipman was almost glowing with happiness, but there was also some wariness.

“Her blood work however is very interesting for the physicians in the med bay as they could find traces of the toxin in her blood, yet it had been rendered inactive thanks to your swift action, Midshipman.”

“But they are particularly interested in the antidote. You called it a ‘Bezoar’ if I’m not mistaken.” His unsettling eyes were not letting her out of his sight and she dared not to break the gaze, but she really wanted to.

“Yes, Sir.” She nodded and gulped. “It’s an extremely rare antidote that can be found on my planet. This object is usually made of hair, plant fibre, or similar indigestible matter that stays in the gut of an animal and forms a hard ball or ‘stone’. How or why it works so well as an antidote is unknown, because it couldn’t be studied due to its extreme rarity.”

“Do you have a second one?” Thrawn asked her and she contemplated how she could evade the question. By saving Baila Panaká she had revealed something that could become of immense interest to the empire. So far, her planet had only been used for human resources or shore leaves, but if they discovered that there was more to her planet then it would probably suffer, or they would sent inquisitors to find more Bezoars and probably lead to an extinction of goats and more suffering among her people.

“No, Sir.” She answered wanting to break the gaze while hoping that he would for once not recognizing her lie. “As I said. These are extremely rare. That was the only one I could get my hands on before being conscripted.”

“Pity.” He remarked unconvinced and Harriet tried to read him with her mental defences still down but was unable to do so, yet he did not pry any further. Normally she would have them back up again, but the Grand Admiral’s office was big enough that she didn’t have that much white noise around her. Vanto did not believe her statement, but he seemed to understand her point up to some extent. Why could she not sense Thrawn? Or rather it was very faint. Too faint for her to recognize. Was it because he wasn’t human? But he is humanoid.

“Why did tell Agent Colburn, that Crewman Panaká wasn’t his sister? Do you assume that she was his first victim?” Thrawn enquired still locking his gaze with her and it was very unsettling. Vanto was curious too.

“I didn’t know for sure that his sister was his first victim, but it was an educated guess. The clip in the victim’s hair always was the same and it was also found in his pocket earlier.  I assumed that it could either belong to a former lover or to a younger female family member. He certainly showed attachment to it. As ‘jewellery’ is officially not allowed I assumed that it may have belonged to a sister, because it didn’t appear to be something an adult female would wear.” She explained calmly.

“How could you know that?” Vanto asked. “There are many distinct cultural differences among the systems. Something that is only worn by children in one system might be worn by adults in another one.”

“Yes, I understand that.” Harry nodded. “But, I can’t explain it. Sometimes my subconscious is faster than my mind in deducing things, I just knew that this belonged to a younger female. And in retrospect, it seems that I was correct.”

“Indeed.” Thrawn commented inclining his head. But Harry suspected that he was merely toying with her.

“Lieutenant Commander Vanto noted that you broke protocol several times and reminded me that the High Command might take issue with this behaviour.” Thrawn informed her and Harry shivered slightly. Breaking protocol was probably the least of her problems if the Fleet Commander had realized what she had done right before his eyes. “What would you tell them in your defence?”

Harry frowned. That was an odd question. He didn’t seem to berate her about the breech of protocol, but he seemed curious about her response.

“I would tell them that the protocol is not infallible and does not cover every possible situation that might occur. In this case the protocol was a severe hindrance that could have cost Crewman Panaká’s life, if I had followed through with it. I acted the way I did, because I needed to bypass unnecessary conversation to optimize the outcome.”

Eli Vanto had to hide his smile behind a cough. Now that was a similarity she shared with Thrawn as he too tended to do much the same. He even had told him something quite similar before their Battle at Batonn.

“For the high command the best outcome would probably be the arrest of Agent Colburn. My best outcome was the survival of Crewman Panaká. I know that the only orders I’m allowed to give are to other Crewmen, but had I begged every single superior in that room to order his personnel to do the things I needed that would only have cost valuable seconds and would have been extremely redundant.”

Harry stopped herself before she could talk herself into more frenzy anger. Some lights in Thrawn’s office were flickering telling her that she needed to get her anger back under control. Thrawn’s gaze had shortly been drawn away from her when the lights had flickered. She took a deep steadying breath.

Thrawn had a barely noticeable knowing smile on his blue face. That couldn’t be a good sign.

“I thank you for this input.” He stated calmly, slightly amused. “That is all for the moment. I expect your final report within the next hour.” That was a clear dismissal and Harry nodded. If her calculations were correct than her shift would start within the next hour. Was she still suspended from it?

“I’m sorry for asking, Sir. My next shift would start within the next hour. Am I still suspended from it?” she enquired.

“For the time being, yes.” Thrawn drawled without giving further information.

 

 

Minutes later…

“You want to recommend her for an officer’s position?” Vanto asked Thrawn who inclined his head. Eli knew that Thrawn had already played with the idea or he wouldn’t have assigned her further duties.

“You told me that she seemed to be calm and in control of the situation earlier, did you not?” the Chiss asked him and Vanto nodded.

“She was. The investigation was entirely lead by her. That Terran protocol she followed was certainly effective. During the confrontation with Agent Colburn she seemed totally in control and answered him in ways I would not have done in her stead. She seemed to appease him with her answers first. But then there are some subtle instances that I can’t explain. When we arrived on the deck of the Army Officer’s barracks, it almost looked as if she was listening for something and then she somehow took off through the maze of the deck and found the exact door Agent Colburn had barricaded himself in?”

“Interesting.” Thrawn mused stroking his chin. “Did you realize that she was very swift retrieving the antidote from her locker?” he asked him and Vanto nodded. “Too fast. Did she have it with her on her person and just stepped out for a bit?”

“No, that was my first assumption, too . . . except that it’s not.” Thrawn answered him. “but this surveillance feed answers our question. He tipped a code on his console.

 “Unfortunately, the surveillance on the Army Crew Quarters was turned off by Agent Colburn, but not in the Navy Crew Quarters.” He activated the feed and Vanto’s eyes grew. He could see the corridor with some lockers and from one second to the other Midshipman Potter appeared out of nowhere and ran into her own locker and bounced back rubbing her head shortly. The locker sprung open without her entering the code on her console. A heartbeat later something flew out of it directly into her hand. She turned around and disappeared again.

“How?” he asked. “Did she do that?” It seemed that Thrawn hadn’t exaggerated when he had filled him in by him showing the paintings and murals of her home planet. But it would explain why she had dared to enter when Agent Colburn had fired at them to keep them at bay. She had blocked it somehow.

“Is she a Jedi? Why hasn’t she used her powers more often? Why hasn’t she been found out until now?” he couldn’t stop his endless questions streaming out of his mouth. He locked his gaze with Thrawn’s amused one. She was probably intriguing him. He could see that. The Force was something he didn’t understand with all his logic and reason, and yet the young woman in question seemed to be using both. Maybe he wanted to study her further to get a better understanding of her powers.

“Very good questions, Vanto.” Thrawn nodded. “I do not believe her to be a Jedi as I could not find any indication in any of her notebooks. But…” Thrawn tipped something else on the console and the holo-picture of a carving appeared. “she might be something what some ancient seafaring tribes of her planet called Völur. the protocol droid studying the languages of Terra translated it as Wand-Wed, which stands for wise women, witches or priestesses.”

“So, she has powers like the witches of Dathomir?” Vanto mused. “Weren’t they dark Force users?”

“According to my research they were, but her art is vastly different than that of the Dathomiri witches.” Thrawn answered.

“As to why she hasn’t used her powers more often, I believe she did to some extent, but you’ve not been aware of this. The blackout shortly after her promotion to Midshipman, similar to the flickering a few minutes ago, the changing of her hair length and her high endurance may be contributed to her power. She certainly isn’t showing her full potential.” Thrawn explained “As to why she has not been found out, she is very talented in hiding it. None of the other personnel realized anything suspicious about her other than her being insubordinate and humans, like yourself seem to be unable to see through her short hair illusion.”

Vanto nodded. “So, is her hyper-intelligence connected to her powers?” he enquired. What if she had just tricked him into believing that she was that intelligent.

Thrawn shook his head. “No, her intelligence seems to be a talent of her own not connected to her powers.”

“But how do you know that?” Vanto enquired but trailed off. “Wait. The two troopers she was interacting with. She was communicating in the same language with one of them. They are from the same planet.”

“Correct.” Thrawn nodded. “They are from the same planet. There is a familiarity between the three that suggests that they know each other longer than their service to the empire. Even though they are not on the best of terms, but they both followed her orders breaking protocol themselves.”

“They acted as if they knew that she was right. That means that they are used to her actions.” Vanto deduced.

“Indeed. Thrawn nodded in appreciation. “and LS-2086, whom she called Longbottom seems to have the same gift, although not her intelligence. She ordered him to take her place in her stead so that she could get the Bezoar from her locker. I may not have understood what they were talking about, but I do recognize my name being spoken. Additionally, he seemed agitated at her order spoken in their native tongue.”

“So, there are more Force users on board. That can prove dangerous.” Vanto remarked.

“Not necessarily.” Thrawn answered. “According to our records we have five individuals from Terra on the Chimera, two, maybe even three of those may have Force Powers. But they are still heavily outnumbered by other personnel. And as they are conscripts they wouldn’t dare doing anything against the Empire as their families are on imperial held planets. Furthermore, internal records indicate that most of the Terran conscripts responded well to their readjustment in the training facilities.”

“Except, Midshipman Potter, I assume.” Vanto pondered noting that Thrawn was in full lecturing mode again.

“Correct.” Thrawn nodded finally sitting down inviting Vanto to do the same. “More importantly, she is the only conscript from her planet that was sent to a real imperial naval academy and competed against other cadets. She graduated with them. All other conscripts were pressed into the Storm Trooper Program.”

“Then why is she still a Midshipman?” Vanto frowned. Every naval cadet received the rank of ensign after graduation. Why hadn’t she? Why had she been the only one that had been transferred to a naval academy? Had someone already realized her potential? Or had she gotten herself into crosshairs with someone in the Academy, who had demoted her before her service?

“That is one of the questions, the High Command will have to answer.” Thrawn calmly answered him leaning back in his chair.

Harry leaned back from her seat in her workstation. She had just sent her detailed report to Thrawn and now it was her that was fighting with growing tiredness. Somehow, she was glad that she didn’t have to go to her shift as she could barely keep her head upright. She hadn’t been able to catch up on her sleep for three rotations and now her body was about to shut down without another dose of pepper-up potion. Had Thrawn already foreseen that. Perhaps, but she hoped that she would make it back to her cot in time.

She blinked and groaned in annoyance and leaned her upper body forward and her head propped up on her arms. Yes, sleep deprivation was certainly taking its toll on her. Her hallucination was back. The little boy was sitting opposite to her work station. Yet his normally pale face was puffy, and it seemed that he had cried.

“Why do I keep seeing you?” she murmured out aloud peeking over her workstation. The little boy seemed forlorn as he rubbed his eyes sniffing loudly.

“I like seeing you.” He sniffed wiping his eyes with his sleeves. “You’re an angel.” 

Alright, she would humour herself. “I’m not an angel. I have dark hair, no goldilocks for me. On second thought, Draco has blond hair and isn’t an angel either. More like a two-faced fire breathing dragon.”  She murmured.

The little boy chuckled at that and hiccupped. “My father is called Draco, you know.”

“Really.” She drawled “What a coincidence.” Her mind was playing tricks and she was stupid enough to follow them through. She should just go to sleep.

“Yep.” The little boy nodded. “But he is very sad. I don’t like seeing him so sad.”

Her ears perked up. _Alright, I bite. Brain what the hell are you doing_?

“Why is he sad?” she asked curiously.

“Because my Maman Astoria is dying and nobody can help her.” The little boy said. “Can you help my maman?” he almost pleaded and Harry frowned.

What was her mind thinking? Why did it want to get rid of Astoria? Had she been angry when she had heard about the impending marriage between Draco and the other woman. Yes, she had been furious, but mostly, she had felt sad and utterly used. When she had woken from her coma after her accident and found that she had lost Draco’s child she had been devastated. It had hurt more than she had thought possible.

She had not been ready to become a mother and she initially had played with the idea to abort her child, but unlike many others in her position she had had the luxury of means to support a child, had two very supportive friends Anthony and Raymond, who would have made great uncles with fantastic families behind them, the Dursley’s, the Lupins, the Lovegoods. She had always been pro-choice, which had lead to fierce discussions with her pious aunt over the years and she still was until this day, but she had decided to keep it. Especially, when her two best friends had enthusiastically started to make plans for the baby, had plotted sweet revenge against Draco for putting her in this position and had pestered her about whom she would make the godfather. Even as going so far to help her raise the child without Draco. It certainly had been a bit tempting. But she had mentally prepared herself to give birth to the child growing within her and to the idea that she would have to include Draco more in her live.  But all that had been taken from her because of an accident she could not remember. And she could remember everything else. Until this day it unnerved her, and Harry believed this to be another attempt of her brain to sort this out.

But what had been worse was the fact that Draco had returned all her letters to her unanswered with notices that he didn’t want to have anything to do with her anymore. He had blamed her for losing it for some reason. Even a ministry official had turned up at her doorstep ordering her to not ever contact Draco again. So, why did her mind conjure up imaginations of a young boy lamenting over a dying Astoria?

“No, I can’t help Astoria.” She murmured drifting off still being prepped against the workstation.

 


	14. Coruscant part 1

_Dear Mrs. Potter,_

_I thank you for your interest to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making ahead of going to Hogwarts._ Usually _I do not tutor children ahead of their magical education as it typically is a waste of time due to their lacking mental capabilities for this complex subject._

 _However, on Mr. Malfoy’s recommendation and to examine your peculiar claim to have ‘read all books on potion making from year one to seven and additional literature’ I am willing to give it a try. Please note that reading about potion making_ and _actual potion making is not the same thing._

_Therefore, I suggest a trial lesson next Saturday at 10:00, together with young Draco Malfoy. If I find your knowledge as well, as you claim then the lessons, might continue. Should I find your knowledge insufficient, then I will not continue to waste any more time on you._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Severus Snape_

_Harriet sighed folding the letter while still being locked in her room in which her family had grounded her after returning from Cardiff. The confrontations between her parents and the Palmer’s had been interesting, to say the least. But she couldn’t help it but wish for loving and intelligent parents like the Palmers. They both had fantastic jobs, were_ marvellously _brilliant individuals and it was no wonder that her friend was that brilliant_ to _. And they had been kind to her and encouraged Raymond and her to question the status quo and to aim do whatever they wanted to do. Before she had followed her parents through the front door of_ the Palmer’s _home. Mrs. Palmer had slipped her an old mobile phone with a full prepaid card and a note to call them at least once a day to tell them how she was doing. As all her stuff was still in privet drive she had soon been extremely bored. Well just after an hour with nothing to do. Her brain needed stimulation and staring at the dark ceiling had been mindlessly boring. Therefore, she had picked her lock with a hair clip and sneaked into the library stealing a few potions books, sneaked into her brother’s room to steal some empty college blocks and she also had sneaked away to the local library to get further chemistry books and_ encyclopaedias _. Stealing her brother’s owl, she even had contacted the Malfoys and asked for suggestions on potion books, which had surprised them, but they had answered swiftly, yet not in a way she had hoped for. They had suggested_ to contact _Professor Snape for tutoring, which she had done as well. Furthermore, the school governor had even agreed to set up meetings with other teachers for her if she would want that. But he had urged her to not tell her parents just yet. Well, it seemed that she had found allies against her parents and she would not mess it up.  Portions and Chemistry were probably two seemingly different subjects and the creation of potions described in her mother’s school books was not scientifically backed. It was more a descriptive manual on how to make potions, but not what happened on a molecular base. Was it possible to create potions in larger quantities? Could this help cure or slow down muggle ailments? It was worth exploring. She would certainly ask him about it at that lesson. Her family wouldn’t realize her absence anyway. They had never even checked on her. Well, she would make sure to spend as little time as possible in Hogwarts, but_ still _get her OWLs and NEWTs. She wanted to stay in the Muggle world and help to make it an even better place._

* * *

 

They had just come out of hyperspace. She didn’t have much time. After her short, yet much needed nap over the workstation. She had visited her two trooper patients and had wanted to speak with Baila but had not been allowed to see her. Afterwards she had gone to the recreation deck and jogged for some time imagining herself to run along her favourite coastline at home. She loved jogging as it helped her getting rid of the tension that had built up over the last few rotations or rather since she was in the service of that bloody empire.  Then she had visited the hairdresser again and finally learned his name, but she planned on pestering him in the future after he had casually let slip that he had directly served under a Jedi Master during the Clone Wars and she hoped that he might have some clearer and undistorted idea what had really happened. Not the official version told by the empire. They would soon reach their destination of their current journey and she dreaded what would happen to her then. But she had prepared and put on a fresh overall marking her as midshipman in case she would be called. She had some feeling that she would answer for what she had done.

She stepped out of the turbo lift into an almost empty storage bay and quickly sneaked behind some crates where Longbottom was already waiting for her ducked down behind it. His brows were furrowed, and he looked rather tense.

“I came. So, what know?” she whispered crouching down next to him, with the crate behind her back.

He wordlessly handed her a small squared mirror and she gasped heavy with emotion and put her hand in front of her mouth to keep her from shouting out. She could see her aunt’s and Dudley’s faces next to each other. Her lovely aunt was barely holding back tears, mimicking Harry’s own face. Dudley was happily waving at her, but even his eyes seemed to be slightly glistening.

“Harry, it’s so good to see you!” she exclaimed with wobbly voice and Harry quickly looked around if anyone else was in the storage room because it sounded so loudly in the empty room. “Are you alright?” Harry lost her fight holding back her tears as some escaped her eyes and slid down her cheeks. She was so glad to see her two family members. All she wanted right now was to stand in their presence, hug them to her heart and never let them go. She cleared her throat, nodded enthusiastically and forced a smile on her face. “I’m now.” She choked out. “I miss you so much.”

“We miss you too, Harry.” Dudley answered back huskily while Petunia nodded eagerly wiping away an escaped tear. “We were so worried. There were so many people who just got a note, that their family members were killed in action and we figured that not hearing anything probably meant that you were still alive. When Mrs. Longbottom told us that you were imprisoned we feared the worst.”

Harry just waved it off and shook her head. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. My station is a bit in the limbo, but I’m alright.” She told them finally getting her emotions under control when Neville Longbottom nudged her shoulder and pointed at a smaller crate which she had accidently shoved with her slipping magic. “Are you alright? Is the empire giving you much trouble? How is uncle Vernon?” she asked realizing that her grumpy uncle wasn’t with them, but her heart skipped a beat, when she saw her family’s uneasy expressions.”

“No.” she ground out getting hit with a fresh set of raw emotions and tears streaming down her cheeks. Petunia and Dudley seemed to have gone through several stages of grief already as they were more composed than her. Tremors were raking her body as the emotions drew on her heavy heart and she could feel her magic slip again. _No, shit! don’t slip!_ Her hope to see everyone safe and sound once again was gone. She would never see her grumpy, yet loving uncle alive again. She took two steadying breaths and jumped as something wet was falling on her shoulders. Longbottom grabbed both of her shoulders and turned her towards him and urgently shook her. “Look, I get that you are feeling like this, but you need to make it stop. Now! You’re making it rain INSIDE a bloody star destroyer! In THRAWN’s Star destroyer no less. You need to get a grip of yourself. Fast.” She could sense his terror. Not from her but what could happen if they were discovered.

She took another few deep breaths to calm her nerves and looked for her point between emotion and serenity, just lake her martial arts teacher from Dudley’s Dojo at home had taught her. She had not heeded his lessons lately. Perhaps it was time to start meditation again in secret. She could feel the calming light in her vast mind again and imagined letting it wash over her and calm her and the raindrops vanished, leaving her and the entire storage room lightly drenched.

“Thanks.” Longbottom sighed, and she raised the mirror again. “How did it happen?” she asked with taut voice.

“It was a year ago. He was working in one of the empire’s factories and mentioned a pull in his arm, pressure in his chest and he had problems breathing. When he came home he was pale, was breathing heavily and had cold sweat.” Dudley explained. “We knew that we had to get him to the hospital before curfew, but it was already to late. Too much of his coronary vessels had died already. We lost him shortly before dawn. He thought about you as well and begged us to tell you that he was grateful that you took my place in the conscription and thus saving my life, but there wasn’t a day where he didn’t worry about you. Just like us. He saw you as his daughter but never was able to tell you personally.” He stopped and smiled at her, while tears were streaming down her cheeks and she sniffed heavily. “Harry, sis. Please come back to us safely.” Her cousin implored her. He had always called her little sis jokingly over the years, but this admission meant a lot to Harry.

“I’m terribly sorry to disrupt your much-needed conversation.” A new, slightly muffled voice could be heard from the mirror, which Harry easily identified as Longbottom’s strict grandmother. “But unfortunately, now that we finally have established contact with Harriet there are some legal things that need to be discussed.”

“Augusta, I don’t give a damn about what the Ministry of Magic has to say.” She rebuked angrily “All I care is my family here.”

“Yes, I understand that but your family in the Wizarding world needs an answer whether you choose to stay in the muggle world or come back to the Wizarding world. There has been a vote in favour of helping the Muggle World or in favour of closing itself off from it. The outcome was…”

“The outcome of that stupid wizarding society was to cower in fear, hoping that they could stay hidden. I’m not surprized Augusta. They are so rearward that their clocks are running backwards instead of forward. And I broke with the Potters. They are not my family any more. As I said I will not bow to their demands and certainly not let them block my birth right of using magic. I thought I made that quite clear when I duelled my brother to the ground and left.” Harry interrupted the elder female enraged careful to keep her fury under control but repeat her rant.

“How did you know about the outcome?” Augusta asked perplexed. “Did Neville tell you?”

“No, he didn’t. People are predictable and wizards in Britain, which are a relatively small community, are especially foreseeable. More so due to their lack of proper education. So, it was a logical consequence. Tell them that I will fight to stay alive for my family, the Dursleys, my friends and should the opportunity arise I will also fight for my people on our planet. Because they are worth fighting for. The Wizarding world isn’t.”  Harry panted at the end of her rant, but she felt the strengthening of her resolve. She could do this.

She heard Augusta sigh heavily. “Oh my. That was well said, Harriet. Guess I owe Xenophilius fifty Galleons. He was right. Would you mind me quoting you in the Quibbler?”

“Since when are you working for the Quibbler, Augusta?” Harry enquired rolling her eyes.

“I’m not, but the Quibbler is still the only free magazine that is free from the control of the Ministry and has therefore a wide range. If we use your quote, we could inspire young people to secretly help the Muggle-borns and the Muggles.”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Augusta. You are going to quote me whether I agree or not. You are recording this conversation anyway.”

“How do you know that?” Augusta enquired flabbergasted with higher pitched voice and her face finally appeared in the mirror.

“Logic.” Harry answered coldly. “And you asked a bit too casually to quote me. Which tells me that you are doing this more often.”

She saw the elder lady exhale soundlessly, with her lips tightly together. “I forgot how sharp you are.” She remarked. “You catch even the little nuances. I’ll inform the minister of your decision today, shortly after the funeral.”

Harry frowned raising her eyebrows in confusion. “Wait. What funeral? Who died?” If the Minister of Magic was going to a funeral it had to be someone important. Perhaps her brother? No, Ginny had him too much under her thumb for that and her mother would never have allowed him to do something reckless.

“Well, if somebody from an old Wizarding Family dies due to an unidentified reactivated curse it is juicy gossip for some. I may not have liked them, but her death is tragic for her family. Nobody should grow up without a mother.” Augusta answered, and Harry froze, cold shivers running down her back. What were the chances of her knowing? How could she tell? Did she know? If she was right, then how could she know it? What if the little boy was more than just an apparition or a fragment of her overactive mind.

“Potter are you alright?” Neville Longbottom asked with slight worry in his voice. “You look a bit pale all of a sudden.”

“Is the funeral for Astoria Greengrass, ahm, I mean Malfoy?” she enquired with uneasy voice.

“Ye…Yes.” Augusta answered astonished. “How do you know that. And don’t you dare say logic. Do you know anything about her curse?” Her tone conveyed her suspecting her involvement somehow.

“What curse? No, I don’t.” Harry answered nervously brushing her hand over her cap instead of her hair.

 “It doesn’t make sense.” She was fretting over that information. Her breath and heartbeat started racing again. What were the odds? She just needed to ask. “Does she have a son? I mean. Do the Malfoys have a son? Small, grey-silvery eyes, Malfoy blond, yet completely unruly hair, probably a sharp mind?”

“You are not making any sense, child.” Augusta berated her, but answered the questions:” I’ve never seen him personally, because Malfoy Junior is very protective of his son, Lucius brags about his grandchild and rumour has it, that he does have unruly hair and a tutor at his young age. Harriet Potter, what do you know about the curse?!”

“You have no authority over me Augusta and I don’t know anything! I thought I was going crazy from work overload or lack of sleep. Now, I’m not so sure anymore. Ok. Ahm. This is going to sound unbelievable, but I had apparitions of a small boy waving at me at the most unfortune moments, and a rotation ago that very same boy told me in that his father was so sad, because his mother was terribly ill. He told me that his father’s name was Draco and asked me if I could help his mother.  I mean he was never physically here, but I could always see him, as clearly as I can see Neville next to me and he could see me and talk to me. I thought I was going mental. So, if I’m not mad, then why and how do I keep seeing that little boy?” She was breathing heavily again and yet it felt as if a bit of weight was lifted from her heart after that admission.

Neville Longbottom and his grandmother stared at her with open mouths and she could sense his astonishment.

“Sorry for listening in on your conversation.  But what if the blond albinos are somehow responsible for your accident in which you lost Angelus?” Dudley’s voice cut in.

“Wait. Who’s Angelus?” Augusta asked confused.

“My stillborn son.” Harriet answered.

“I’m sorry.” Augusta shook her head and frowned.”I thought you had an abortion“

“I honestly don’t know where you get your information from Augusta, but your information is wrong! I didn’t abort him.  I lost him! At least that’s what I was told when I woke in the hospital after being in coma for roughly two weeks. I was told that I was found unresponsive at the base of the stairs in a poodle of blood and my dead child, a baby boy, at my feet. The thing is I can’t remember anything about that day and I usually recall every little detail of my life. I even remember hearing everyone’s voices during my coma. The doctors, the Dursley’s, the Lovegoods, even the Weasley Twins, but I don’t know what happened.”

“That’s the first I’ve heard of it.” Augusta said. “The Daily Prophet reported that you’ve become temporarily ill due to a botched late abortion because you refused to be ‘tied down by anyone’. They called you a cold-blooded murderess, that should serve time in Askaban.”

“WHAT!” Harry and the Dursley’s exclaimed in unison and it knocked the breath out of her lungs as she slumped down and leaned against the crate. She was shocked, angry and …

Her new comm beeped and she quickly handed Longbottom his mirror and composed herself mentally cursing the caller to the next galaxy. Whoever was comming her had an unfortunate timing.

 “Midshipman, Potter.” She answered sounding steadier than she felt holding her breath and hoping that none of the mirror call would interrupt. “Midshipman, report to Hangar Bay Two immediately.” Came Vanto’s voice. “The High Command requests our presence at our earliest convenience.”

“I’m on my way, Sir.” She responded swiftly and cut the transmission. “I need to go, but I won’t let that go.” She told Neville and shortly guided his hand so that she could see the elder Lady but ignored her. “Auntie, Dudley, I love you both. See you soon. Longbottom you will tell me about the next mirror call.” He nodded in confirmation and she stood up, peaked around the grate and quickly marched towards the turbo lift.

After her brave grandson ended the mirror call Augusta turned around to the Dursleys.

“It seems there are circulating different versions of the same issue in the Wizarding world and in the Muggle World. I need you to tell me everything you know about that incident, where your niece has lost her child. Why do you suspect that the Malfoys have anything to do with her losing her son? I mean everyone knows that they were good friends at Hogwarts. It grated on her family’s nerves, but was there more.”

“I accused them because Draco fucking Malfoy was together with her for years and by together I mean they were a couple. But when she needed him most he dumped her like a sack of rotten potatoes.” Dudley spat angrily. “He fed her fertility potion and rendered her contraceptives useless. He is the father of her stillborn child. Harry was blinded by her love for him, but she was also too independent for his taste. She had no intention of leaving or slacking at work, but he wanted to tie her down.

“We knew he was trouble, his name had to come from somewhere, but we had hoped that he would have some spine.” Petunia cut in. “After she lost Angelus, we feared that we would soon loose her too. It was touch and go in the hospital and she was severely depressed afterwards because she could not make head and tails of what had happened. Angelus was healthy, every prenatal check showed that. Yet there is no explanation why she was found this way. Do you have any idea how much effort it took to get her live back on track? She wasn’t eating, she wasn’t really drinking, she had lost that spark that had her going all these years. It was a joint effort by us, Raymond and Anthony, her two friends, she ran her company with, extensive therapy and further separation from the Magical World. Yet she held on to her live because she didn’t want to disappoint us. She knew that her company and her charity depended on her.

Augusta exhaled sadly. Understanding for Harriet Potter’s hatred towards the Wizarding world began to blossom in her chest. She had seen her grow-up in the shadow of her famous brother. She had given her parents and her brother an extremely tough time and had repeatedly clashed with Ministry officials and school teachers in Hogwarts. At least the two years she had been forced to go to the Northern Wizarding School.  Rumours had circulated stating that she was the evil opposite of her brother, that she was a fraud, that she was mentally unstable and downright dangerous. Being Neville’s grandmother, she had seen that the girl had received less attention by her parents due to her brother needing to be prepared, but with all the trouble she had caused she had received her fair share of attention. Now that she thought about it. Maybe she had needed this to get her parents attention at all? She had later worked closely with the Order, Augusta knew that, but everyone had called her a wild card as she had not given a damn about what Dumbledore had ordered her to do. She even had quite often gone against his well-prepared plans, because it ‘had just felt right’. Yet she had been one of the most effective order members that they had had. Many people had been terrified of her when they had suddenly not been able to use magic next to her. This young woman had developed a small Muggle gadget that blocked magical powers for some time using Muggle Technology. At least Arthur had guessed this, and she had confirmed it by only nodding in one of the Order Meetings.

“Who else in the Wizarding World beside Draco Malfoy knew about that child before she lost it?” Augusta asked understanding why the Dursleys had refused Draco Malfoy as Harry’s magical handler.

“That we don’t know.” Dudley scoffed balling his hands into fists.

“I will look into this matter.” Augusta promised and vanished.

Petunia leaned back into the sofa and exhaled, letting her shoulders slump. “I hate it when they do that, but at least we know she’s alright.”

“For now.” Dudley murmured.

Harry walked towards the hangar bay barely actively noticing what was happening around her. Her uncle was dead, and she had not been there for them. She had not been able to properly thank him for practically raising her. For being the marvellous father figure that she had desperately needed. Like the rest of the Dursley’s he had been there for her. No matter what.  Why was she seeing Astoria’s boy? It didn’t make any sense. Her emotions still were bubbling to the surface, but she could not lose focus. She needed to stay composed, calm and collected. Especially, when she had been ordered to the Hangar Bay. She dreaded what it could mean. As she stepped through the last durasteel blast doors she stopped, took another deep breath to compose herself and banished her nebulous thoughts safely behind a mental door of her mind palace.

“I’m telling you. There must be some leak. It doesn’t just rain in a few decks of a star destroyer.” Two troopers on patrol quarrelled passing her. _Ups_. _Well, at least the corridors get a good scrub_. She sheepishly grinned as she passed them.

As she now finally focused on her surroundings she could see the different Lambda shuttles lined up next to each other, technicians working on some of them, patrolling troopers and crates that were transported. Yet one shuttle was standing in the middle of the bay, ready to depart. In front of it stood her tall Chiss Commander with his back to her, Lieutenant Commander Vanto next to him and they were joined by another man, she did not know, but his white uniform classified him as an ISB-Agent. _Great another one of that sort._ He was older than the other ISB-Officers she had seen, with white hair and a matching white moustache.

They must have heard her approach as they all turned towards her when she arrived at the little group but held her distance by standing attention and locking her hands behind her back and squaring her shoulders. “Midshipman Potter reporting.”

“At ease, Midshipman.” Thrawn ordered her and she relaxed slightly, yet she hated the scrutinizing look of that elderly ISB-Officer. Sneaking a peak at his ranked plate, she deduced that he must have been a high-ranking officer from Coruscant. They weren’t here long, and this officer had come to the Destroyer? Why? Even Thrawn was scrutinizing her more than usual. Could he tell that her emotional state wasn’t as stable right now and that she had cried earlier. She hoped not. That would be hard to explain.

“Colonel Yularen, May I introduce. Midshipman Potter.” Thrawn introduced her while hear breath hitched and her eyes widened, and hot and cold shivers were running down her back. She may only be a lowly wheel in the vast machinations of the empire, but even she had heard about him. He was the Head of ISB! She had the strong urge to exercise a military turn and make a run for it, but she wouldn’t be able to get very far. She probably resembled a deer in the headlights right now. _Keep it together!_ She reminded herself.

“So, this is the young Midshipman, I’ve heard so much.” Yularen said in a conversational tone, taking a step closer to her. “According to your suggestions in your report, I have ordered a complete review of Agent Colburn’s former stations to complete his list of murders. We should have conclusive results within a few hours.”

Harriet was surprised that he had already read her report. “You’ve read my report already, Sir?” she enquired. “Will this be enough to convict him?”

“I’ve skimmed through it, yes, but the evidence against Agent Colburn is overwhelming. Well, done.” He praised her smiling at her, but she only hesitantly returned it. Getting high praise from an imperial was not something she liked that much. She felt a bit like a traitor to her own people.

“Thank you, Sir.” She thanked him. “But I can’t help but worry that Agent Colburn is too well connected and will go free. It is my word against his and in the unofficial hierarchy of the empire he is ranked above me, and political alliances are unfortunately rather strong in the Imperial Navy.” _Keep your mouth shut!_ _You’re a raven, not a brash lion._ Harry thought to herself. Her mouth had already blabbed her worry out before she could stop herself. It would probably the end of her one day.

Yularen’s eyes grew showing his surprise. Vanto gaped at her and Thrawn had one of his barely noticeable lopsided smiles on his blue face. _At least someone finds this amusing._ She thought sarcastically. _I just should have kept my mouth shut!_

“Your bold directness is appreciated, Midshipman.” Yularen remarked with. “Yet, I suggest phrasing this differently in front of the High Command later, as they might take issue with this.”

Her breath hitched again when she heard that she would have to stand before the High Command and she hastily nodded.  At least it had sounded as if she would be forced to face them. She had often experienced stage fright but had learned to managed it due to training. Falling back into old habits would be horrible right now.

“The High Command is currently working itself through your extensive report and will probably be ready within the next hour.” Yularen stated turning towards the Lamda Class Shuttle he continued. “We should not keep them waiting.”

She cautiously followed the three higher ranking officers onto the shuttle. A few troopers were standing attention around the ramp as they walked passed them and she fell back two steps to put some distance between the three superior officers and her. She had no idea how she had to handle herself. Was there a required seating protocol? Should she sit next to them? Leave a few seats between them? Sit opposite of them? Or was she required to stand all the way to their destination? Thrawn, leading the group sat in one of the middle seats of the Port Bench Seating at the left side of the shuttle. Yularen sat himself towards his left and Vanto to his right. Was she allowed to sit next to Vanto? Should she sit on the opposite side of the shuttle at the Starboard Bench seating. Well, she preferred sitting there. As the ramp closed the four troopers lowered their blasters and steered towards the Starboard Bench seating.

The confusion must have shown on her face because Vanto inclined his head and pointed to the seat next to him, onto which she hastily sat down and stared at the four troopers sitting at the opposite benches. The shuttle lifted into the air and she could feel the turn and departure from the bay. Although she had never been this close to the centre of the galaxy, she had heard much about the planet that consisted of one single town and which had lost its last natural park due to an imperial research centre. It was a pity, that she couldn’t see the approach to the planet. Thrawn and Yularen were discussing her long report about the situation how suicides were handled in the empire and how they could be prevented. Yularen seemed partially intrigued by the idea that those numbers could be lessened, but he doubted that the High Command would even be open to her recommendations.

Harry perked up when he mentioned, that during the Clone Wars they had had people overseeing the officer’s mental stage. But the most effective in finding those mentally suffering people had been the Jedi. Perhaps she should not have been that forward in looking into the suicides. The last thing she needed was to be confused with Jedi. The extinct order sounded intriguing, but she dared not ask the Colonel about them. Something told her that the Jedi weren’t the traitors the Empire made everyone believe. Baila had told her that they had been guardians of the republic. So, they would probably have been against this autocracy, like the empire.

 The loud noise of the endless Coruscanti traffic was dulled as she was almost silently following Thrawn and Vanto through the seemingly never-ending labyrinth of the large complex hosting the High Command. Colonel Yularen had left them shortly after their landing on Coruscant to investigate the newly acquired information. It seemed that Harry’s prediction that Agent Colburn was well connected had become true. Someone in the High Command had not taken Agent Colburn’s arrest well and had leaked it to his family, who had now raised charges against her and requested his immediate release and her immediate transfer to a ‘place worth her station’.

Therefore, their plans had changed, and she now had to stand trial before the Imperial Navy Judicial Panel. _Shouldn’t I be panicking right now?_ _Why am I not?_ It seemed that she had already gone through enough emotional changes for one day and she simply was too drained. Still there was some lingering dread, but she mentally collected ideas what they could throw at her and how she could properly rebuke their accusations. Yularen had said that there was enough evidence against Agent Colburn, there had been enough witnesses and Thrawn and Vanto had to appear before the panel as well.

They finally reached two large double doors, big as the door to the Grand Hall with two troopers on guard duty in front of it.

Harry exhaled silently when she was ordered to wait until she was called while Thrawn and Vanto entered without her.


	15. Coruscant part 2

Harry exhaled audibly in annoyance as she was leaning with crossed arms against the large window watching the air traffic meandering among the large foreign Coruscanti skyscrapers intently. Officers of different ranks, senatorial aids, protocol droids and mouse droids had been passing her mostly without blinking an eye, some were raising an eyebrow, other’s sniffed at her appearance. A group of young adults lead by a navy lieutenant had stopped next to her and she felt something brushing over her. Something familiar, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on it. Like a small gust of wind, yet nothing physical.

She checked the chronometer again for the dozenth time. What were they doing inside for over two hours? Perhaps her reports hadn’t been as clear as she had believed them to be. Or they wanted to get rid of her and create a sling which she could not escape from? Or this wasn’t about her at all and Thrawn had to justify his actions as they did not like his war style.

She listened intently as the lieutenant of the last group explained details of the architecture of this building, lamented that they wouldn’t be able to see the grand splendour of the Hall of Justice of the Imperial Navy Judicial Panel as it was currently in session.

“Ah well, we might not see this hall, but we know one person who most likely will.” A young male voice said smugly. “Why would the panel bother with a Midshipman, anyway?”

Her eyes widened. “He was talking about her.” And she could feel her annoyance and resentment growing and slowly turned around mustering him and raising her eyebrow.

He was dressed in what appeared to be a very fashionable garment and robe and smiled arrogantly at her, but it seemed that he liked to indulge into his passion of eating a bit too much as the garment was a bit tight around his belly.

“Curiosity kills the cat.” She addressed him mimicking his speech style. “I could tell you, what I’m here for.” She paused for effect and took a step closer to him while directly staring into his eyes. “But then I’d have to kill you.” She continued lowering her voice darkly and giving him a scary grin.

He gulped and took a step back, while two young women in the back of the group, one with vibrant coloured hair even more vibrant clothing and one with deep brown hair chuckled, clearly having understood that she had teased their colleague. The others fell in amused. She stopped her act and broke into a teasing smile, but it was already too late.

“But, you can’t.” the teased one protested. “We are apprentice legislators!”

“The pivotal word being ‘apprentice’.” she rebuked now in a bored tone reminiscent of her former potion’s master. “Meaning that you are drilled to fulfil only the benchmarks set by the empire, not what actually …”

“You don’t want to finish that sentence, Midhshipman.” Vanto’s exasperated voice came from the entrance, gesturing to the Lieutenant to move on. They are ready to see you now.” Well, as annoying as it was, it was probably a good thing that he had stopped her before she could launch into a tirade against the probably brainwashed ‘Baby legislators.’ Being in an annoyed mood was never good. It always got her in trouble.

She nodded and moved through the trove of people, who stepped aside. The dark haired young women, which had chuckled earlier smiled at her, which Harry felt compelled to return.

Then the doors closed behind and she was engulfed in deadly silence as she stepped steadily, with her shoulders squared and her head held high next to Vanto who led her along a huge walkway next to a window font. The hall itself was quite enormous. The big Hall of Hogwarts would have fit into it quite a few times, she guessed. With two walkways at the sides and a podium in the middle facing the elevated panel of the Juridical Panel members. To reach the small podium, Thrawn was currently standing on watching their approach with she had to walk the entire length of the walkway to reach the stairs leading down again. Another try to intimidate. As she currently was descending the steep stairs she swore that she could feel the burning eyes of the panel in her back. She gritted her teeth and swore to herself. They would not be the end of her. She would get out of this. The long walk in this room to the small rectangular podium in the room was most likely purposeful for intimidation. Yes, she was intimidated, but she would get out of this. She ascended the few stairs of the podium and came to stand in between Thrawn on her right and Vanto on her left.

“Midshipman Harriet Thea Athena Potter.” One man on the left side of the Panel addressed her with grave voice. “Do you know why you are here?”

 _Oh great. The standard question._ She stopped herself from rolling her eyes in the nick of time as she squared her shoulders and locked her hands behind her back.

“There are numerous reasons why I could be ordered before this panel, Sir.” She answered. “Yet, if I’m not mistaken, it has something to do with Agent Colburn’s Coruscanti family raising charges against me a few hours ago.”

“Correct.” The man responded. “Your file notes that you are repeatedly refusing to follow simple orders, that you do not heed the chain of command and one of the last entries suggests that you are a severe danger to the order of the empire. So, why should we believe you over Agent Colburn?” That sounded quite familiar. He was probably only reading extracts from her file taken out of context.

 _Alright here we go._ “I have to admit, Sir, that all those accusations do sound rather grave, but I would please ask you to look at the time stamps. When you take a closer look at the time stamps, you will see that those cited extracts were written some month ago, by officers, that were consequently arrested for spice abuse.” _Shit! Agent Colburn lead this investigation! What if those idiots go free because of that._

“As for the last entry.” She continued not allowing to show her growing anxiety on the outside. “Agent Colburn saw me as a threat to the empire as I was closing in on his crimes. So, if you check the ID-Number of the last entry, it will reveal his identity.”

She saw two of the panel members putting their heads together and debating over something. “Furthermore,” she continued. “We caught Agent Colburn in the act as he was attempting to murder Crewman Baila Panaká, who hails from the emperor’s home world Naboo.”

“It was not your place to investigate.” A female panel member on the right scoffed. “You should have notified…”

“Another ISB officer?” Harry interrupted her indecorously. “There was no time to do this. I had to keep a deadline when I detected the supposed suicide cases. At this point of my investigation, I didn’t know the Unsub’s identity, but I knew that it had to be an officer, capable to enter any section of the ship. Agent Colburn was the highest ranking ISB officer on board and in my dealings with him I didn’t deem him trustworthy enough to inform him. Every lower ranking one would have been forced to answer to him and had been required to notify him. Perfect way of telling a serial killer that he is being investigated.” She wasn’t quite able to leave the snark out of her voice. “And I did inform higher ranking officers about it.”

“Yes, Grand Admiral Thrawn and Lieutenant Commander Vanto were generous enough to detail the need about your little survey earlier.” The female silkily told her, “but why should we believe your word when you are lying about something so fundamental like your conscription. After all, you enlisted.”

“I did certainly not enlist!” Harry rebuked angrily balling her hands taking a few deep breaths to calm her anger.

“My cousin was the one being conscripted, but I went in his stead. The empire requested one able person of each family on my planet to serve the empire. When the conscription officer came knocking down our door, I took his place. Now, it seems that this officer was unsure which relevant form to fill in.”

“In other words, you have cheated the empire of an able-bodied male to serve in the grand army of the empire for your own gain.”

The female sneered at her and Harry was barely holding it together when she realized. _They want me to snap. They want to find a reason to get rid of me._ _If I snap they might conscript Dudley! I won’t let that happen!_  She took a mental step back and collected her wits. So far only the female had verbally attacked her and tried to discredit her.

She raised her eyes towards the female again but did not fall for her bait and smiled defiantly at them. _Time to hit back._

“I did certainly not swindler the empire out of an abled bodied man. My cousin is a gentle soul, not a fighter. He would not have survived the brutal basic training for long. He is a marvellous teacher and karate trainer, but when it comes to real combat experience the empire is better off without him. I, on the other hand do have combat experience. You accuse me of joining the empire for my own gain without knowing anything about me, Ma’am. Truth is. I lost everything that I’ve built with blood, sweat and tears over the years, taking my cousin’s place. The only thing I gained was certain knowledge that my family was safe. But that is not why you are attacking me, is it, Ma’am?” she asked calmly and paused for effect. “Tell me, what exactly is your relation to Agent Colburn?”

“I beg your pardon?” the female asked with a raising pitch in her voice. _Bingo!_ _You heard me._

As she scrutinized the female closer, she mentally recalled the face of the caught agent in her mind and compared them. Yularen had said that someone from High Command had leaked the information of his arrest to his family. What if someone from the family had been privy to the information beforehand? She shared some physical similarities with him, so there could be some blood relation.

“I will not answer to some 2nd rate Midshipman that believes herself to be above the law.” She evaded the question, but Harry had no desire to let her get off the hook that easily.

“I do not believe myself to be above the law. In fact, in my doing I have adhered to the Imperial Naval Code. May I draw your attention to the lines five and eight?” she suggested.

“What lines?” the female scoffed again, and Harry began to wonder why the other four individuals of the panel did not take part in their conversation.

Harry sighed dramatically and recited: ”Line five of the imperial naval code: ‘I will use Imperial resources responsibly’. Did I step out of line investigating the suicides of my fellow colleagues? Yes. But I believed their needless deaths to be a waste of Imperial resources and throve to prevent them. Chapter three of my report deals states the underestimated consequences of these suicides. Should I go into more detail? By preventing three other Imperial assets of committing suicide I was able to start some awareness of this problem. If you had time to read my report in detail, you will also understand what these problems entail. By solving this persistent problem, you might actually safe important resources.” Harry was now addressing the other Panel Members as she believed that they had to come to a decision together. So, she had to win over the other ones and weaken the female trying to undermine her value.

“Line eight stats:’ I will call out those who do not live up to the standards of the Naval Code’. This is line is one of the problematic ones to accomplish as it stands in violation with Line two:’ I will obey my superiors.’ What should I do if my direct superior does not adhere to the naval Code. Ensign Mayr, was regularly misusing spice and probably other addictive substances. Yet, due to my lower rank I was unable to call him out on it. The only way of showing off his incompetence was by insubordination, which incidentally prevented an infiltration of the Chimera, I might add. As, for Agent Colburn, your nephew, I presume.” Harry took a deep breath, hoping her gamble would pay off and went on.

”I didn’t call him out and it would have taken much longer to identify him as the murderer, if he hadn’t panicked and acted outside his comfort zone.”

“Why do you believe that my colleague is Agent Colburn’s aunt.” another elderly man from the Panel finally addressed her.

“Well, Sir. She is constantly changing from an objective level to an emotional one. This tells me the arrest of her nephew and the consequences for her family are personal. Your colleague also shares subtle facial similarities with Agent Colburn. So there seems to be some blood relation. I am aware that she does not share a surname with him, or this panel would already have figured out her close relation to the accused.”

“How dare you …” the female growled but was interrupted by the elderly man seated in the middle of the panel. The head of this panel perhaps?

“New evidence was just provided by Colonel Yularen.” He told everyone in the hall. “We need to postpone this session for now.”

 

 

“That was interesting” Vanto remarked when they stepped out of the hall again to wait for a decision of the panel.

Harry was inclined to shrug but stopped herself from doing that.

“Still, taking Colonel Yularen’s advice in consideration to show humility would have been appreciated.” He remarked sternly which she automatically replied to while her mind was already elsewhere. How long would this go this time?

“Basic, is not my first language, Sir. So, I do still struggle formulating more polite sentences.”

“Krayt Spit.” Vanto snorted shaking his head. Thrawn was observing them with interest. “You learned Sy Bisti within a few short weeks and that is grammatically more demanding than Basic. You even speak Basic imitating the Coruscanti accent most of the time. Your report used highly academic Basic structures. You just keep being defiant.” 

“Her defiance is a well-established habit that she won’t be able to give up that easily.” Thrawn told his aide calmly. “It is a habit that she is most familiar with and which I assume dates before her planet joined the empire. Am I correct?”

 _How does he know that?_ Yes, defying her birth family had been an integral part of her live. But how could he know that? Harry felt warmth creep into her face and fought to keep her face passive, but it was scary how the Grand Admiral figured things out “Perhaps, Sir.” She tried to evade the question.

“Themes of defiance can be found in throughout your artwork. At least from what I could gather from your notebooks.”

Waves of hot and cold shivers were running down her back while she felt the blood drain from her face. _I really need my notebooks back!_ Maybe now was the opportunity to ask for them. The last thing she needed was that the Chiss was getting them translated and by now she really believed him capable of doing just that.

“Speaking of which, Sir.” She addressed her commander shyly. “Ahm. May I be so bold and ask when I might get my notebooks and my other affects back?”

“So much for not being unable to be polite.” Vanto remarked smirking and she could sense his amusement.

Those unsettling red eyes stared at her and she wanted to recoil. Perhaps she had shouldn’t have asked. “Patience, Midshipman.” Thrawn replied ominously. “All in good time.”

Once again, she was standing before the stern panel with beating heart. Yet this time on her own. Thrawn and Vanto had been called to a different meeting leaving her alone to wait for the final judgment on her case. When they had left her waiting for another hour she had , at least for a split second, contemplated slipping away, but knew logically that she would not get very far. She was just a Midshipman. Her code cylinder would not get her very far and she was in the middle of HQ, which resembled a delicate maze. And she would only make things for her family worse. Additionally, she had no idea how she could get off the planet on her own and back to Earth, which until this day was, as far as she knew, still a restricted area.

Harry tried to read their facial expressions, but it proved more difficult than usual, due to the distance between her and the panel members and they appeared to be experts in keeping their face neutral. But she could sense that Agent Colburn’s aunt was still mentally fuming, while two of the other were just extremely bored and wanted this to get over with as their stomachs were growling heavily. The other two, including the chairman, were not happy with their decision. Whatever that decision was. But they all oosed uneasiness. Why did they feel uncomfortable?

“…and it is therefore the decision of this panel that Midshipman Harriet Thea Athena Potter be cleared of all charges of insubordination and conspiracy against ISB agent Colburn. Dismissed.” The chairman drawled while Harry felt hear spirits heighten. At least one good thing had happened today. Now she would have to find her way back to the shuttle without inciting further wrath by the high and mighty.

Finally, forty-five minutes later she arrived at the landing platform, she knew the lambda-shuttle she had come in, was stationed but was stopped by troopers telling her that she had no business being here. _Great. What now?_ She sighed exhaled angrily as she looked at the two troopers guarding the entrance, while the officer checking the log grinned haughtily at her.

“I must ask you to leave before I call security. There is no Midshipman Potter listed at the ISD Chimera.” She sighed and added a little angry growl. What the hell? “She grabbed her code cylinder and held it out to him. “Here is my code cylinder, that can confirm my status.” She pleaded persistently. What the hell was going on here?

“It’s a nice trick, but I think you know just as well as I do that your code cylinder won’t confirm anything.” He laughed sardonically.

She had to get back to the ISD Chimera. Everything she owned was there in her locker. Thrawn still had her wand, ok, well her first wand, but without it she felt that something familiar was missing. And he had her notebooks, that she desperately hoped would never be translated. She could not get stranded on this all too buzzing planet. Was that the revenge of the Colburn Family Clan? Was the Chimera already deployed and had left her behind? But why had she not received new orders then? _Wait_. She did have a comm after all. Vanto had told her that she had Thrawn’s and his personal comm codes programmed into it. Should she use it? What if she interrupted an important meeting just because she was incapable of getting back to the Chimera. What if this was a test on her resourcefulness? It was so tempting to use magic, right now, but there was surveillance everywhere and she could not risk it. Especially this close to the Imperial Palace.

“There must be some sort of misunderstanding.” She took a step back as the two troopers advanced at her. She couldn’t make a scene, or she would be back before the panel in no time, but she could also not let them take her.

 “Lame Botas” she spat at him using her favourite non-English curse word and side stepped the officer putting her code cylinder in the docking port, but just as he said, it was rejected. She had no authority and no clearance to go back to the shuttle and incidentally the Chimera.

“What in the name of Merlin’s most baggy Y-fronts is happening?” she asked unbelieving as she was forcefully drawn away from it.

“Well, security it is.” The officer chipped up happily. “It seems that your stolen code cylinder was already reported stolen and therefore rendered useless. It’s over rebel”

Harry blinked a few times as jaw dropped. Did he call her rebel? How should rebels be able to infiltrate this complex? Security was probably one of the tightest on the core.

“Don’t know where you get your delusions from. I’m not a rebel. I didn’t steal anything. That is my code cylinder.” She defended herself forcefully, stomping her right foot with her heel onto the toes of the officer’s right root.

He howled and let go of her. She used this short diversion and spun around him, pitting him between her and the two troopers using him as a human shield. Probably not the best way of showing that she wasn’t a rebel, but he had grated on her nerves.

“May I enquire what this little skirmish is about?” a calm, cultured familiar voice enquired and everyone halted their actions. Relieve washed over her as she perceived Thrawn’s unique baritone voice.

She squared her shoulders and turned to face him, but the Lieutenant, she had defended herself against was faster before she could collect her wits.

“We captured this rebel spy trying to force her way onto the platform, probably to steal one of the Lambda-shuttles, Sir.” He answered proudly, clearly satisfied with himself.

Thrawn only regarded him coldly, rose one of his eyebrows and turned towards Harry who had the strong urge to strangle the little prick of an officer.

“Potter?” Thrawn addressed her questioningly.

“I wanted to get back to the Shuttle, Sir, but was refused entry, because according to him,” She pointed angrily at the Lieutenant, “I’m not listed as part of the Chimera’s crew any longer. He refused to check my code cylinder, so I had to do it myself only to find out that my cylinder is invalid. That’s when he accused me of being a rebel and wanted to evict me from the premises.”

“But, she has no valid code cylinder and there is no Midshipman under the name Potter listed in the ISD Chimera’s log. I’ve only done my duty, Sir” The unpleasant Lieutenant defended himself pointing at his datapad.

The large Chiss Commander’s face remained passive.  Vanto behind him was amused and seemed to know something that he felt not necessary to share.  The Lieutenant however, to Harry’s darker satisfaction was trembling slightly as Thrawn took one strong step towards the man and held out his hand requesting to look.

He tipped something on it with an amused glimmer in his unsettling red eyes and held it back out to him.

“As you can see she did speak the truth. There is a perfectly good reason, why her code cylinder did not work. She is part of ISD Chimera’s crew.”

The lieutenant’s jaw dropped but did not apologize to her. She frowned. So, she was part of the crew, but has not appeared in the log. Her shoulders slumped.  _Great. I’ve been demoted._  

“There you are!” Longbottom shouted elated when she stepped towards her locker. He must have waited for her return “We’ve been worried about you.”

“Isn’t it time for your shift? Guard duty or whatever?” she asked him rummaging around her locker, stuffing things into her little suitcase.

“Sure.” He nodded brushing his blaster, “but I needed to check if you were fine. You looked out of sorts when you left, and the rumour mill is already in full swing. What are you doing?”

She nodded “Sure it is. Anything to make their boring lives more interesting.” She murmured sarcastically, but Longbottom gave no indication that he would leave anytime soon.

She sighed. “Longbottom don’t let me keep you. Go, to you shift. I’m fine.”

He shook his head. “It looks like you’re clearing your locker. Were you transferred? Care to tell me what’s going on?”

She checked one last time if her locker was completely empty, put her reduced suitcase in the pouch of her overall and slammed the locker. “I don’t know what’s going on. Alright. The Navy Judicial Panel cleared me from any wrongdoings, but my code cylinder doesn’t work anymore and Thrawn’s ordered me to clear my locker, my cot and report to his office afterwards. Now, Neville.” She changed to his first name in hopes of pacifying him. “Go to your shift and don’t worry about me.” He was a true Gryffindor, with light Hufflepuff tendencies. So, she hoped to manipulate him enough to let go. Thankfully, it did. 

“Come find me after my shift, alright.” He told her putting on his helmet. She cocked her head. He was worried about her. Her younger self would have cheered, but she was unable to forget the bullying they had done to her at her short time at Hogwarts. But she might try being a bit more civil to her.  

She stepped through the double durasteel doors into Thrawn’s office after the Trooper on guard had cleared and stopped abruptly, nearly stumbling as her knees had turned to jelly. How many more surprises would she have to endure today?

Her frenzied gaze darted around mentally checking how much he had gathered. It was more than she wanted to. Icy fear was freezing her in place and any remaining air left in her lungs was knocked out of them by realizing that he was not just analysing parts of her attempts of artwork, but ultimately her. It seemed that the hushed whispers were true that he could look deep into a species psyche by analysing her artwork.

Some paintings hovered in the space around the large Grand Admiral's desk. It was all holographic but still clear enough to discern every nook and cranny and each stroke of her pencil or brush. How had he gathered them all? Some of these drawings had been hung in the Dursley’s home. Two of the displayed portraits had hung near the front door, at the opposite side of the cupboard under the stairs of Privet Drive? Why had he done this? Why had the Dursley’s not mentioned anything about this? There, another painting but this was one was hanging in her company’s ‘war room’, or rather what Tony had called their private coffee and snack room where they had come up with innovative and sometimes rather dangerous inventions. They had locked all those sketches, drafts away from their company using a Fidelius Charm. Her two friends were the only other two with access to this vault. The empire should not get their sticky paws on those.

He must have placed a comm call to the nearest garrison and sent them to investigate her family. Was he trying to intimidate her? Showing her that he had her family under observation, so that she could not step out of line again? What if this person observing her family realized that they had connections to wizarding families? She had to warn Augusta to meet with the Dursley’s the muggle way or they could give the Wizarding world away and the last thing she needed was her brother being taken by Inquisitors, the rumoured witch hunters under Lord Vader.  He was a brat after all and could most likely turned easily.

“Your attention to detail is rather interesting.” The Chiss murmured standing in front of …

 _No!_ she nearly fainted. Somebody had been in her old room at the Dursley’s! She should just have destroyed those little drawings. _Blast the therapist suggesting using my creativity to release my destructive feelings! It had taken her month to finish this coal painting of her two families: The Dursleys and the Potters._

She gritted her teeth. That was way too personal, and he had no right to analyse her like that. It was as if he was reading her personal diaries. Only he practically held her diaries and notebooks hostage and she wanted it back. Could she obliviate him? He was hard to read and sense. If she tried and failed, then she would have nowhere to run.

 “The use of different shades of black, and white stand in stark contrast of the other half of the drawing of bright colours. A very interesting portrait.” Thrawn purred and turned around to face her.

Harry grimaced. “This drawing was never meant to be seen by anyone, Sir.”

“Understandable.” Thrawn nodded, turning off the holoprojector and circled her. “But I do believe that your artwork is not the only secret you are desperately trying to hide from the empire.”

The dark-haired witch fought to keep standing attention. “I’m afraid, I don’t know what you mean, Sir.” She answered hesitantly feeling her pulse racing in her throat.

“Oh, I believe you do.” The Chiss answered calmly from her side, now back behind his desk as he pulled out her wand.

 


	16. Chiss Tango

**_Spinner’s End, first lesson:_ **

_“Draco” Snape suddenly snapped: „What would I get if I added root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"_

_“Ahm. I don’t know.” The blond-haired boy shrugged his shoulders._

_“Pity. In that case, I believe you need further reading material.” Snape remarked dryly, and the boy’s shoulders slumped, and he pouted angrily. “Now, let’s see if Mrs. Potter knows the answer?” He turned towards her and she just smiled happily at him, which seemed to irritate him:_

_“As written in the book Advanced Potions making by Mathilda Gibbs, on page 245, third paragraph: Asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death.” Harriet cited while challengingly looking at the Potions Master who sneeringly turned back to her companion. The answer to the first question had been written in a sixth year’s book._

_“Let's try again. Draco, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" That she did know as it was mentioned as a side note in the book Thousand Fungus and where to find them. she had leaved through at countless times already. Draco bit his lips and shrugged carefully_

_“A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it can be used to save people from most poisons.” Harry burst out to safe the blond boy from Snape’s scrutiny._

_“I was unaware that your name was Draco.” He reprimanded her. Last question.” he bellowed “What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?”_

_“They’re the same” Harry and Draco answered in unison which brought smirks to both children and Harry added:”and this extremely poisonous plant is also called aconite, leopard's bane, mouse bane, women's bane, devil's helmet, Queen of all Poisons, or blue rocket and belongs to the family Ranunculaceae, and…”_

_“What are the three basic components for the cure of boils?” he continued._

_“That depends on the cause of the boils.” She answered as this was a trickier question. “According to Magical drafts and Potions, you need horned slugs, porcupine quills, and snake fangs for the simplest version.”_

_Snape nodded and continued his questioning:” Tell me which potion I would get with the following recipe:_

_Add 2 drops of Lethe River Water to your cauldron, Secondly, gently heat for 20 seconds, then add 2 Valerian sprigs to your cauldron, stir 3 times, clockwise and wave your wand with a specific incantation and leave to it to brew for 45-60 minutes.”_

_Harriet snickered, which Snape didn’t seem to like if his reddening face was any indication, but that was an easy question again:_

_“That’s the first part of the brewing process for the Forgetfulness Potion. This potion causes an unknown degree of memory loss in the drinker. The recipe for this potion can be found in Magical Drafts and Potions and its key ingredients include Lethe River Water, mistletoe berries, and Valerian sprigs.” She took a deep breath and continued._

_“The second part of the brewing process is as follows: You have to add 2 measures of the standard ingredient to the mortar, add 4 mistletoe berries to the mortar, crush it into a medium-fine powder using the pestle, then add 2 pinches of the crushed mixture to your cauldron, stir 5 times, anti-clockwise and then wave your wand to complete the potion. I believe that those have been several last questions, professor.”_

_Draco gaped at her in astonishment and Professor Snape just seemed to fight finding his voice again as he repeatedly open and closed his mouth like a carp out of water. Draco was quicker to get over his surprise and leaned over whispering conspiratorially. “That’s a first. I’ve never seen anyone being able to silence Severus.”_

_Finally, the greasy haired potions master caught himself and snapped his fingers. “Your mother wasn’t that bad at potions during her time.” He stated. “Did she teach you all this?”_

_“You must be joking.” Harriet shook her head. “My mother has her head in the clouds. When she isn’t to busy doting on my mentally challenged brother, then she is busy bettering her station in the newly formed social circles of Wizarding society.”_

_Snape grimaced for a split second and schooled his face a second later so that Harriet believed to have imagined it. “I was an autodidact until a year ago. I’ve read and memorized pretty much all the books in our library.”_

_“You read all the books?” Draco asked her. “Really all?”_

_“Yes, all the books in the Potter library.” She nodded._

_“Well, that wouldn’t have taken long to read through. Your father cheated himself half-way through Hogwarts.” The Snape murmured bitterly._

_“That would explain a lot.” Harry concurred with the Potions master who stopped in his tracks and frowned at her. Probably wondering why, she didn’t defend her father. “But we do have an extensive library.”_

_“Well, you can always borrow some of our books.” Draco suggested “Father says we have the best library after Hogwarts.”_

_Harriet laughed. “Don’t make promises because I might hold you to that.”_

_“Alright, you two enough chatter.” Snape interrupted them and ordered them to follow him down a narrow, steep and barely lit staircase, which probably lead to a cellar._

_As Harriet carefully treaded after him, with Draco behind her she stopped shortly and whispered to the boy: „I’m pretty sure this is how horror stories begin.”_

_He snickered behind her and whispered back. “Well, Severus does look like a giant overgrown bat? Do you think he can grow fangs too?” Now it was her turn to snicker. “Only one way to find out.”_

_“I heard that, you two.” Came the stern voice from the darkness below them and they burst into infectious laughter._

_A few seconds later they found themselves in an old cobbled cellar with several simmering cauldrons at the side and two small ones at a workbench in the middle of the room._

_Her wide smile on her face grew in understanding. She was about to brew her first potion and she couldn’t wait._

_“Is something wrong, professor?” Lily asked offering him a cup of tea, which he gladly took._

_“No, everything is perfectly fine, but I believe that Alexander is not ready yet. I do suggest however to practice simple wand exercises daily for at least half an hour to get his body used to the use of magic. He is exhausted, but it is perfectly normal. Just keep drilling him the incantations and we will fill in the other blanks later.” Dumbledore answered in a friendly tone and hid his frustration. Alexander wasn’t as ready as he had hoped he’d be at that age. That he was afraid of using magic due to what his sister had done to him on his birthday wasn’t helping either._

_“We will.” Lily nodded thankfully. “I’ve thought about teaching him some basic potions recipes for later. Do you think that would help his enthusiasm?”_

_Dumbledore nodded with a wise smile. “That’s a very good idea, Lilly. I’ve already asked Severus if he would consider tutoring, but unfortunately he declined due to time complications.”_

_“What time complications could he possibly have?” Lily asked with a pang in her heart. He had been her friend and guide in the first few years at Hogwarts, but it had soon turned sour and she had to break off any contact to save her sanity._

_“Oh, preparing for his next year in Hogwarts and he has agreed to tutor his godson and an additional child, but I do not know its name unfortunately.” He told her in a conversational tone._

_“I was wondering if I could borrow James’ cloak for a day or two. I need to check Hogwarts for any potential weaknesses, which would be immensely helpful if I was invisible.” He explained, and Lilly laughed. “I’m pretty sure that you don’t need that cloak to become invisible, so there is probably more to it. But we don’t know where it is at the moment. James has hidden it away so that he can give it to Alexander as its first inherited item, but unfortunately so well that even he can’t remember where it is.”_

_“He hid it? Why? There are not many people who know about this cloak.” Dumbledore frowned._

_“Well, we don’t want it to get in the wrong hands.” Lily told him. “After what Harriet did at Alexander’s birthday we honestly don’t know what else she is capable of and we thought it best to hide it form her.”_

_“A wise decision”. Dumbledore sighed at the thought of the rebellious girl._

* * *

 

 A solemn silence with some murmurs, whispers could be heard in the ballroom where everyone was gathered after Astoria Malfoy’s service.

After paying her respects to the mourning family, Augusta Longbottom meandered in between the groups of people in search for the minister. Yet her gaze was drawn to the small forlorn boy sitting in the corner. He sat at a small table and was drawing something intently, while streams of tears glistened on his puffy face. Augusta mentally compared him to the younger Malfoy and had to admit that he did look almost exactly like him, but his almost white-blond hair was uncharacteristically curly and looked as if he had made it even more unruly by brushing his hand through it. Nymphadora’s son Teddy was sitting next to him, but it seemed that he was not getting through to his friend and drew something on another sheet

Augusta shortly abandoned her search for the minister and sat down opposite the boy and took a glance at the pictures. One was clearly a Star Destroyer. The second one, which he was currently drawing on made her gasp. The little boy was drawing uncharacteristically detailed for his age.

“That’s a very pretty picture.” Augusta remarked smiling at the little boy, who only nodded and continued ignoring her.

“Do you know who that is?” He nodded again, finishing something colourful in the back of that grey room. “That’s Harry.”

“That’s right.” Augusta continued smiling. As she inspected the picture further. It showed a Blue-skinned male in a white uniform standing opposite of Harry. They seemed to be in a deep conversation.

 “How do you know her?” He probably had seen one of the articles about her. Occasionally the Daily Prophet had branched out and reported trivial things about her in the Muggle World. But as they had never understood what she had achieved there, it had not been newsworthy. But how could he know about Thrawn?

“I’ve always known her.” He answered shrugging his shoulders. Then he carefully put his crayons to the side and a smile was hushing over his face. “And I can finally talk to her. I talked to her yesterday. But she was so tired and fell asleep. It looked funny.”

“Who did you talk to, Scorpius?” a new voice joined them, and Draco Malfoy sat protectively next to his son and shot Augusta an angry glare.

The little boy pointed at the Harry in the picture and told him:” With Harry of course. I talked with her and then she fell asleep.”

“Scorpius, Harry is far away on a what do they call it… Star Destroyer? There is no way that you could have talked to her.” Draco admonished him and brushed his hand over Scorpius soft unruly hair.

“Yes, I did.” The little boy protested. “I told her that she looked like an angel, but she said that she’s not, because she has dark hair. Then,…” the little boy giggled clearly remembering something and continued. “ then she said that you have blond hair, but you are not an angel either. She called you a fire-breathing dragon.

Augusta snorted at that and received another look

“Then I told her that your name is Draco but I think she did not believe me.” The little boy told her. The elder Malfoy shook his head and froze when Augusta leaned back in her seat with a cautious look.

“You asked her if she could help your mother, didn’t you?” she asked the little boy remembering what Harry had told her and Draco cut in.

“I really don’t think that it’s a good idea to bring up Astoria so close after her passing.” He stopped when Scorpius answered. “Yes, I did. Did you talk to her too?”

“I did have a lovely conversation with her a few hours ago.” Augusta confirmed “and she thought that her mind was playing tricks on her, when she saw you. She can’t explain why she keeps seeing you.”

“Wait. Harriet can see my son?” Draco Malfoy asked her, his eyes taking on a haunted look. “How is she doing?” ahm… “He cleared his throat. “How is this possible?”

“That’s the big mystery.” Augusta shrugged. 

“I’ve only established contact once a few hours ago, but those were very informative few minutes. Especially, considering what she had been through after you broke off any contact with her, or I’m I mistaken.”

“You have no idea what you are talking about.” Draco Malfoy hissed at her. “I’m not having this conversation here in front of my son at my late wife’s wake. I believe it’s time for you to leave.”

Augusta inclined her head and addressed the little boy “Scorpius, the next time you want to talk with Harry make sure that she is alone. That way she won’t get into trouble with this one. Grand Admiral Thrawn” Augusta pointed at the blue skinned man in the picture. “She is already on his radar.”

The little boy nodded in understanding but then frowned and asked:” What’s a radar?”

“That’s not important right now, Scorp.” Draco Malfoy stopped him but looking at the young boy Augusta knew he would not let go of this anytime soon. He had a very familiar cheeky look on his face.

 “And tell her that you’ve talked with me, Augusta Longbottom and that I can confirm that you are real, right. That way she won’t be so shocked when she sees you. Good day, Mr. Malfoy.”

She almost made it half-way through the ballroom when she was stopped by a very irritated Walpurga Greengrass. “Do you have no shame, Augusta. Scheming and pitting people against each other at my daughter’s funeral!”

“I was merely paying my respects and happened to talk with your wonderful grand-son. She must have been so proud of him. But that’s not why you are so stressed out, is it. You’re afraid that young Draco Malfoy will marry again, and you’ll lose your connection to their vast wealth. Don’t worry, I doubt that he will marry again until he has found out what this curse was all about. The risk of loosing another wife would be too dangerous.”

 

* * *

 

Ministry, the next day.

…

 “She will not bow to the Ministry’s laws and I believe you know perfectly well, that we won’t be able to bind her magic or to stop her. She defied Dumbledore and pretty much everyone here.” Augusta told the minister who nodded solemnly.

He nodded. “Yes, she could raise the Tartarus on earth, but she has a good heart that stops her from doing that. I expected something like this, and I can’t help but agree with her. We should be out there helping the Muggles, yet I can’t overrule the Wizengamot.” He passionately argued.

Augusta nodded. “There is something else about her that might interest you and it could be connected to Astoria Malfoy’s sudden death.”

Kinsley straightened in his seat.” I’m listening.”

“You do remember the more than unflattering articles about her claiming that she had become ill due to a botched abortion? And the witch hunt that followed afterwards” Augusta asked.

He nodded. “I wasn’t surprised about that. She always favourable towards pro-choice and our society is acting holier than the pope in Rome.”

Augusta snorted. “Turns out that Rita Skeeter has written an entirely false article again. She should be questioned about the source of her information on that article. Harriet never aborted. She lost it due to reasons still unknown. According to the Dursleys she was found unconscious at the bottoms of the chairs in a ‘puddle of blood’ and her dead child at her side, shortly before she was due. She spent two weeks in coma.”

Kingsley’s gaze turned worried and partly angry. “She was in a coma? Was there any evidence of foul play?” he asked the elderly lady who shrugged. “She lived in the Muggle World. So, we don’t know. The Dursleys suspect foul play but can’t prove it, but with the next information it gets even more interesting.” She told him seeing that the minister was hanging on her every word. “The father of that unborn child was none other than Draco Malfoy.”

Kingsley jumped up from his seat in surprise. “No! Did they have an affair that turned sour?”

Augusta shook her head. “No, according to the Dursley’s they were an item for several years. But it gets even stranger.”

“How could this possible get any stranger, than it already is?” Kingsley sighed and plummet back into his chair, which creaked under his weight.

“Scorpius Malfoy can see and communicate with Harriet Potter without any additional magical means. He’s drawing Star Destroyers and pictures of her. He said that ‘he has always known her’. I found out talking with Harriet Potter and the little Malfoy confirmed it yesterday. She was on the verge of panic. She thought she was losing her mind.”

He nodded. “Yes, that can be terrifying for someone who relies so strongly on logic and rationality.”

“And then Astoria dies from an unidentified curse, that nobody could cure.” He mused. “That is worth investigating. I’ll set two Aurors on this case as soon as possible.”

Augusta nodded again but reminded him. ”Not sure if two are enough. There is a lot of ground to cover and you have to be careful who to pick. Her relatives, Sirius Black, Ronald Weasley should be excluded from the investigation. Tonks is related to the Malfoys, so you can’t take her either.”

“Thank you, Augusta. I do know how to do my job.” He protested.

Thrawn’s office:

 _Don’t faint! Don’t faint!_ Harry mentally repeated as she eyed her wand verily and heart plummeted.  Her trusted wand, her friend. Although she was perfectly capable of doing magic without her wand it helped her to channel her power and control it. Without it she lost control way too easily and she didn’t trust her other wand, she had won from her brother. He couldn’t know what it was? _He has your notebooks. Of course, he figured it out_! Her treacherous mind told her.

“I believe you call this a wand.” Thrawn remarked admiring the carved artwork on her wooden wand. She nodded hesitantly but kept silent. She knew that she would not be able to produce more than a squeaking sound due to her nervousness and utter terror now.

“Depictions of this item can be found in all cultures throughout the history of your planet. In earlier cultures, however those wand-bearers were highly respected and considered responsible for the well-being of their people. In some later cultures, however we can see a shift in this attitude towards these people. Especially after the change from a matrilineal to patriarchal society. They became shunned and hunted. Then curiously enough they disappeared into legend.” He froze her in place with his unsettling red eyes. “Yet, here you are.”

Where was he going with this? “This is just a personalized conductors beaton, Sir.” She tried to lead him astray with unsteady voice. She could not let him find out more about her otherwise he would hand her over to the Inquisitors and she did not want to become one of them or get killed. “I tried to learn to become a conductor for a while before the empire came. It’s just a remembrance of those times.”

That was obviously the wrong thing to say as his red eyes narrowed. Harry clenched her teeth as her breath hitched and her vision swayed slightly. _Keep your focus_.

“Do not take me for a fool, Mrs. Potter.” He scolded her calmly, and Harry jumped somewhat.

“You are delightfully bad liar. Very rare among the imperial ranks. But with a wide range of useful talents. I have observed your behaviour since you stepped onto my bridge for the first time. You used your power defensively against the continued harassment of Ensign Mayr and his accomplices to hide the fact that your hair grew back each day to the same length of before, the ship’s blackout without any power failure, your fast return to save Crewman Panaká, despite being several decks in between. Our physicians are still baffled how she is still alive as the poison she was affected by usually kills within a minute. You slowed the process down. Am I correct?” Harry was almost inclined to nod but stopped. She could not admit that.

“I will not admit having such powers, Sir.” She stubbornly replied. “I know what happens to people who are detected to have some kind of power, or as the empire calls it ‘Force sensitivity’. They disappear to be either be tortured and killed or secretly trained in Arkanis.”

“Really?” Thrawn stopped his circling and turned around. He did sound curious. _Ups. I think I just admitted to more hacking and… shit…. I admitted it to him probably with that statement._ She grimaced before she could school her features again.

“According to the rumours, of course, Sir.” She added quickly hoping to sound convincing but in the back of her mind she knew that this wouldn’t be enough to convince him.

“I told you that you’re a bad liar.” He reminded her. “So, don’t ever lie to me again. Or there will be consequences” His deep voice dropped a few degrees as he locked eyes with her again and she shivered. Yes, he was scary, but she would not let him intimidate her further. He had not killed her yet. So, perhaps he had a different plan. No, he was probably just goading her. That’s why she was not listed as a member of the crew anymore.

“What do you know about Arkanis?” he enquired, and she contemplated if she should share this information with him. He was a Grand Admiral. He probably knew about Project Harvester anyway and was probably provoking her into admitting something. But he could apparently read her face, so lying was out of the question.

 _The inch of truth_ fleetingly came into her mind. Narcissa had once advised her to use the inch of truth to hide lies and to make it more difficult for them to be spotted. Perhaps she should use this too. On the other hand, Thrawn had ordered her to never lie to him again and if he spotted her lying to him know then she didn’t know what else he would do to her. And she really wanted to stay alive to see the Dursley’s again.

“I still require an answer, Ms. Potter.” Thrawn reminded her now standing in front of her again and she had to crane her neck. He was much taller than her and she wasn’t exactly short.

“I found out about Arkanis in the Academy.” She told him defiantly. “The top student of an advanced course disappeared over night after a Pau'an male came to visit.” She shuddered in remembrance. She had been asleep in her hard cot when cold, dark chill had washed over her waking and warning her about danger and she had slammed her mental defences in place and extended that barriers over her entire body, masking her magical core.

“I overheard taskmaster Birk talk to an officer about that cadet and just tried to investigate what had happened to him. He died as part of Project Harvester on Arkanis. That’s all I know, Sir.”

“Interesting.” Thrawn mused turning away from her and she dared to take a quick and hasty breath to refill her lungs.

 “You were able to tab into highly classified information, that even I was of yet unaware of. Again. Lt. Commander Vanto was right. You are a talented slicer. And it also explains your wariness of using your power.”

“No.” Harriet admitted. “Had I only used my powers then I would never have achieved everything that I did. I worked myself up using my intellect. Not my power.”

Thrawn wondered. “You resent it.”

“Yes, I do. I prefer to use my mind, not my power. It has brought me nothing but pain.” She spat. “The people on my planet, who are using it, are culturally and mentally several centuries behind the normal population. They resent progress and shun everybody who dares to challenge their stunted backward ways. So, if you want to turn me over to the Inquisitors, you should know that I won’t go quietly. I’ve survived them. I will survive the Inquisitors.”

She passionately told him finally letting go of any pretences. There was no point of denying it anymore. He knew. She had not been careful enough and would now pay the price for that. But she decided that she would not give up that easily. Yes, he did have her first wand in his possession, but she didn’t necessarily need it to protect herself and she would give them hell.

“You misunderstand, I have no intention of turning you over to the inquisitors at the present time.” Thrawn answered calmly shaking his head locking his eyes with her again. “Handing you over to Lord Vader or his Inquisitors, I can be certain that your valuable talents will be wasted.” Thrawn told her locking his gaze with hers again. “You are far more valuable to me alive and well. But my protection for you has a price.”

Her breath hitched again. “What price?!”

But it looked as if Thrawn was going to continue playing with her like a cat which had finally trapped the canary. “Patience. All in good time.”

Harry grinded her teeth. She was not patient. And certainly not in her current position. She wanted to blurt out that she preferred to know immediately but kept silent. But the urge was rather strong.

“You’ve had formal training in the honing of your powers? What exactly did this entail?” he enquired inquisitively.

“Too much to detail everything in a few minutes. Should I provide you with an entire curriculum?” Harry snapped sarcastically. “This curriculum usually takes seven years to master, but it’s entirely ignoring science.”

“You did not study it that long.” Thrawn remarked with a knowing stern gaze at her tone.

Harry huffed in exasperation. Why did he already know her so scarily well? What else of her belongings had he taken and studied? Technically she had studied quite some time before Hogwarts.

“No, you are correct I finished it in two years and only because I wasn’t allowed to leave Hog. …mh. This particular school earlier.”

“Interesting.” Thrawn murmured in a conversational tone “I’m eager to learn more about it in the future.” Harry grinded her teeth silently. So, if she wasn’t listed among the crew, yet it seemed that the Chiss planned to keep her around then as what? The implications were numerous. She was confused and frowned but her blue skinned commander did not give her much time to contemplate on his statement.

“Where you part of Terra’s defence Force that defeated the empire when it first tried to conquer your planet?” He asked changing the subject and caught her off guard again.

“Is that a trap question, Sir?” she enquired stalling him to think for a proper answer. Her heartbeat still racing in her throat. They had been an uncoordinated mess at first, but eventually, they had been able to work together for the first time in history. As devastating their losses were, this moment of working in unison had made her proud. But she would not give away their leaders, who had mostly survived and were only biding their time and had agents among the conscripts who were supposed to learn as much as possible, but she knew that she was the only one who was still alive.

“Just answer the question.” Thrawn ordered her evenly.

“My entire planet was.” She answered him with pride in her voice, still stalling. “This happens when an unknown force arrives and attacks our planet out of the blue without any prior provocation. Besides, the empire must have had Earth… ahm…Terra under observation for quite some time otherwise they wouldn’t have known which targets to take out to cripple our planet. We were only defending ourselves.” She huffed in anger, but it also felt good to get that off her chest. Caution be damned.

Again, Thrawn seemed entirely unfazed by her rant. “According to the empire’s database your planet did provoke the empire.”

“How should we have done that? We didn’t even know that this monstrosity of an empire existed.” Thrawn’s right eyebrow rose while the rest of his face remained motionless. It almost seemed as if he was surprised that she dared to speak like this with him. _Ok, probably a bit to forward. I should probably tone it down a bit._

“Sure, if by provoking you mean that the empire sent a squad of dispensable desert troopers into one of the most lawless parts of our planet, where streams of desperate refugees originated from and wonders why they were openly executed by the local militia group, then yes, we did provoke the empire.” She sarcastically answered him remembering stumbling over the disturbing footage of the terrorist group online, while working for the planetary defence force. _For god’s sake mouth shut up, your forwardness is going to break your neck._ She bit her cheeks to stop her from continuing like that.

“You believe the empire purposefully sent troopers to their death to provoke an incident?” Thrawn asked her.

“It wouldn’t be the first time.” She swiftly answered him. “I did some digging in the academy. Those troopers were failed cadets without any real worth to the empire. The empire probably figured that they had invested too much in them and could use them somehow. Which means either swamp troopers or another cannon fodder. Why the empire was so eager to conquer my planet is beyond me. We luckily do not have any resources that could be useful to it. Or rather we have human resources. Seems like the empire is running a bit too fast through its recruits…”

“Careful. Somebody might call your talk treasonous.” The Chiss reprimanded her calmly stopping her tirade.

 _Which part of my talk? I spent the last few minutes taking digs at the empire?_   She wanted to rebuke, but opened the mouth, but at her superior’s narrowing gaze she quickly shut it again. Her defiance was getting out of hand.

“I can’t speak about the reasons the empire decided to integrate your planet into its reign.” He told her. “But your planet’s existence has not been a secret to my people. To be honest, I have no idea why it took the empire so long to detect your loud planet. Your little exploration probe was an interesting little present.”

“Probe?” What probe could he probably referring to? She wrecked her mind until she gasped, and her eyes widened. There was only one probe that he could mean that had left the solar system: “Your people found our voyager II?” her jaw dropped. “That’s amazing!”

“Voyager? Interesting.” He repeated the for him foreign word. “Voyager. The Chiss Ascandancy found it rather … primitive yet amusing.”

“My planet’s technology skyrocketed in the decades after.” She defended her people. After all they had advanced significantly.

“You are very loyal to your people. An admirable trait. But the empire demands your loyalty as well.” Thrawn remarked calmly.

“After the devastation the empire created on Terra, it doesn’t deserve my loyalty.” Harry hissed angrily balling her fists. “How can you support such a tyrannical regime that would gladly subjugate your own people, just because you don’t fit into their neat little human categories or simply because they are not of the same species? They can’t fault you, but as soon as you’d make a minor mistake they would throw you to the wolves.”  

“Interesting, theory” Thrawn remarked calmly. “as for my loyalty to my emperor, I’ll give you a scenario.” He sat down behind his desk and gestured her to sit opposite to him. Where was this going she wondered. Was he trying to get her to understand his stance? Or was this another of his countless tests. He had still not reacted angrily towards her blatant disregard of proper behaviour. _Wait? Am I trying to get him riled up? Ups, I might be testing his patience._ Everyone else would probably have already lost his temper, but he hadn’t.

“You and I face a dangerous predator intent on slaughter. Running is impossible, tools and weapons are limited. What are your options?” He asked catching her gaze again, while leaning back and putting his fingertips together.

“What kind of predator? How is that predator dangerous? Is it physically dangerous by size, numbers?” she asked wondering. Or did he mean another alien species? Several alien film horror plots were rushing through her mind. “By technology?”

She could swear that there was a barely visible grin in the Chiss’ face. “I believe you think about this in a much to complicated way.” He answered her.

She shook her head. “I don’t think so, Sir. In order to answer your scenario, I need more than just that ‘it is a dangerous predator intent on slaughter’. That could be applied to quite a few monsters around. Metaphorically, it could also be applied to the empire.”

“I gave you my scenario. Now it is upon you to solve it.” Thrawn answered unfazed and calm. What would you do?”

She contemplated it. Ideally, she would just grab Thrawn and apparate away, but she assumed that was not what he wanted to hear. He probably wanted a different solution. Or rather he wanted to hear what she could do, but she would disclose this particular gift for now

“There are two possibilities.” She told him after a second. “The logical, but cold-blooded option would be to strike you down so as to make you the easier prey. While the predator devours you, I’d hope to find or build a weapon I can use to assure my own survival.” While she stated this possibility, she knew that she would probably never be able to this. Her instinct would tell her to save them both. She contemplated. Were there people she would leave behind. The emperor? Definitely. Voldemort, if he were still alive. Definitely. Draco? After he had broken her heart. Maybe. Her brother? Very tempting, but probably not.

“And the second?” Thrawn disrupted her musing.

“The second one would be for us to join forces.” She answered. “Trying to distract and confuse that predator until we could find or build a weapon to survive.” Harry let her mind wander again. Why had he asked her this? Was he trying to lead her to his reason why he was loyal to the empire.

“Your scenario. Is this your answer to my earlier question, Sir?” she asked mimicking Thrawn’s behaviour by leaning back in the seat and putting her fingertips together. Did the Chiss have mirror neurons? She could manipulate humans to “like” her by mimicking their physical behaviour in order to appear more pleasant to them, which actually was only an activation of their mirror neurons. She decided that it was worth a try. What could possibly happen?

“It is indeed.” Thrawn answered her inclining his head, but a confused look was hushing over his face for a split second. _Aha_. That could be worth investigating. Did the chiss have mirror neurons? Something had been there, which had confused him or was he baiting her. She tried lower her mental shields to sense him, but he somehow, she had difficulties understanding it. Was that because he was from a different species? Or she wasn’t that familiar with him that she could read him like that.

“There are evil things in this galaxy, Ms. Potter. Far more evil than the Empire, and far more dangerous to all living beings. We know of some, while of others we have heard only rumours. We needed to know whether the Empire that was rising from the ashes of the Clone War could be an ally against them.”

“Or whether it should instead be collapsed into an easy prey,” Harry completed his sentence with growing dread.

“Correct.” He stood up from his seat and put his hands behind his back.

“Does that mean that your exile was a bluff?” she asked him curiously and stopped herself. His file wasn’t accessible to everyone and that he had been found exiled on a remote planet was not common knowledge. Well, his file hadn’t been very forthcoming with any information on him personally. It was only a rather extensive lists of reprimands and promotions, the circumstances he had been recovered and that he hailed from the unknown regions, but not much else. His victory at Batonn had not made much sense to her as he had kept casualties to a minimum in previous engagements with the enemy, but people tended to change when reaching a certain level of power

He rounded his desk again with entirely calm face. “I should have known. Did you find my file informative?” _Not really._ She shook her head.

He stopped next to her seat, too close for her taste so that she had to crane her neck to keep his gaze. Why was he invading her personal space? Or did the Chiss have a different definition of personal space? It certainly already varied from country to country on her planet but was there a rule for the empire. Or should she have stood up with him?

 “To protect our galaxy, we need capable people who have the strength to do what is necessary. Who are intelligent enough to see the bigger picture and can plan several steps ahead and who can give us an advantage over those dangers.”

Harry sighed. “So, I’m supposed to turn a blind eye on all the atrocities the empire is committing? The enslaved Wookies, the Lasan genocide, the prison camps on Wobani? Batonn?!” _Ah.... Low blow, Harry!_

“Unfortunately, not all circumstances are foreseeable, but one has to adjust to those situations. The civilian casualties were not my intention.” Thrawn answered and Harry could swear that she could hear a bit of regret in his voice. But she was probably imagining things.

““Certainly, the Empire is corrupt. No government totally escapes that plague.” He continued lecturing her. “Certainly, it is tyrannical. But quick and utter ruthlessness is necessary when the galaxy is continually threatened by chaos.”

“And what happens when this ruthlessness creates more chaos?” Harry asked challengingly. “Because, repression and revolt feed each other. It’s a vicious circle. There is only so much that subjugated species can take, and the empire is particularly cruel to them.”

“Then the revolt must die,” Thrawn said. “The danger is too great. The stakes are too high. If the Empire falls, what can replace it?”

“Probably chaos at first. And if the democratic powers are strong enough then we could have a strong democratic republic.”

“You are giving them to much credit.” Thrawn answered sternly. “If the empire fails, then the result is utter chaos. Civil war, which will draw this galaxy apart, making it easy prey for the evil lurking at the edge of our galaxy.”

“Perhaps, you are not giving them enough credit, Sir.” She countered sourly. “A common enemy usually has the effect of uniting even the fiercest adversaries.” Thrawn nodded turning towards the large display of the two lizard-like creatures.

“You are correct, but even if two former enemies join forces, there will be no clear chain of command at first, which will result in significant delays countering the attacks of the aggressor. These delays will ultimately lead to fatal failure and cannot be allowed. Failure to act always brings consequences. But sometimes those consequences can be turned to one’s advantage. As I said. There is too much at stake.”   _Well, I doubt that he would let anyone else take the lead_.

“And how exactly should following the orders of a madman like our dear emperor, safe the galaxy from this evil you speak of?” she asked him snidely.

The Chiss slowly turned on his heals again and faced her with narrowed eyes.

“Your counters are becoming bolder with each statement.” He remarked lowering his voice and her heart plummeted.  

“I have no qualms about accepting criticism or useful ideas merely because they weren’t my own. My position and ego are not at stake here. But, other commanders might take issue with your insubordinate tone and hinder your advancement in imperial ranks. For future references, I suggest that you take Lt. Commander Vanto’s advise and formulate your statements in a less forward manner.”

Harry scowled. Advancement within imperial ranks? She had been demoted. Why would she even want to advance in this oppressive regime?

“As for your question:” Thrawn continued in a less threatening tone. “Emperor Palpatine will not live forever. When it becomes time for his authority to be handed to another, my position as a senior officer will allow me to influence the choice of that leader.”

 _Who’s the one sounding treasonous_ now?  Harry sincerely doubted that. Yes, he was a Grand Admiral, but he wasn’t the only one. There were twelve others and the emperor had several powerful people who wouldn’t hesitate to take his place: Vader, Tarkin, Mas Amedda. Thrawn did not have enough political influence. He came from the Unknown Regions, was a humanoid alien, and constantly showed the Coruscanti elite up.  All things that disqualified him from being able to influence the new leader. And there were rumours that their emperor was considering to shut down the senate.

“Even if, you succeed putting a more sympathetic leader on the throne.  Many planets won’t be able to wait that long. Especially, when their lives are in immediate danger now, by the empire” She told him. “They will flock to the growing Rebellion.”

She would too, if she had the chance. But she was curious about the “so-called” evil the blue skinned Commander spoke off. Surely there wasn’t something far eviller than Voldemort and the empire?

“Not, if there’s no rebellion they can turn to.” Thrawn answered her coldly. “If you are confronted with two aggressors, you do not split forces. You take out the weaker aggressor with minimal force, so that you can focus on the real threat.”

Harry took a deep breath. Why could life not be simpler for a change? Not to have a care in the world. But she desperately wanted the rebellion to succeed. Surely, if they knew about the threat they could properly prepare for it. But so far there were only whispers of a growing rebellion. When she had taken Dudley’s place she had placed her hopes into reaching them one day, coming back to free her planet from the tight grasp of the empire. Her facial expression must have given her away because Thrawn stepped closer to her again and Harry jumped.

“I understand, that from you’d hoped to escape to the rebellion once an opportunity would present itself, but I will not let that happen. You are part of the empire now, more specifically, you are part of my personal staff and it is time that you accept that.” _For god’s sake! Is he a mind reader?_ What had given her away this time? Her notebooks? Her expression? _Wait. Did he say his personal staff?_

Harry frowned in confusion:” But, I thought I’ve been demoted? I wasn’t listed on the ships log.”

“Demoted?” He repeated shaking his head. “On the contrary. You have not been demoted Ms. Potter.”

 _On the contrary?_ Had she been promoted? That wasn’t possible. Was it? She had caused too much ruckus in order to get one.

“When we contacted High Command about your rank issue, they were surprised that they hadn’t listed you as a cadet there.” He commented.

“That’s because I wasn’t meant to be there in the first place.” She asserted drily. “I just managed to make Commandant Wielock livid with rage and he wanted to get rid of me.”

“So, I've heard.” Thrawn nodded. “Colonal Yularen discovered your rather detailed file, kept separate from the others of your year. It was a rather… informative on your behaviour.”

Harry mentally groaned bending forward trying to hide her face behind her hands in embarrassment. Now, she knew how Thrawn had deduced her rebellious tendencies. In the Academy she had not given a lick about her reputation and had manipulated the different taskmasters and teachers with seemingly harmless remarks to the point of severe quarrels and even fist fights, pitted bullying cadets against each other, had sometimes completed the different tasks way ahead of the required time frame and sometimes she had not payed active attention at all, knowing full well that she would remember everything around her. In the battle simulation classes, she had always held back letting the other’s fight over their pride.

Unfortunately, the instructor had tried to trap her once with a seemingly impossible scenario and she had completed it due to her astonishment. This instructor had then continued to be on her heels and it had been rather difficult to evade her.

The flight training had been the only thing she had really liked although her partners had hated her as she had sometimes rather gone after her wingmen and sometimes after the rebels, depending on her current moods. Yes, the Academy had been in a bit of chaos during her time, but she had hoped that she would have been expelled and sent to her home planet again to be reunited with her family. After all they had already given her as a “tribute” to the empire and wouldn’t dare take her cousin after her escapades. But she had miscalculated. Somehow, she had not been expelled.

“As you should theoretically have graduated with the rank of Ensign, Colonel Yularen suggested, that given you’re displayed dedication to save your fellow crewmembers and catching Agent Colburn, that a promotion was due.” Thrawn explained with amusement in his voice.

Harry’s jaw dropped, and she gaped at her, still having to crane her neck. Not a crewman?, Not an ensign? Then what was her rank and what came with it?

“You’ll be replacing Lt. Commander Vanto as my personal aide as he will undertake a very delicate diplomatic mission and will be absent for an indefinite amount of time.” Thrawn continued his explanation locking his gaze with hers.

 _His personal aide!?_ That meant that she would mean that she would be forced to spend quite a lot of time in his direct vicinity and he would probably study her further until every secret of hers would be laid bare. Her heart skipped a beat at that thought again and somehow, she wished her insignificant rank of crewman back.

“I will personally oversee the continuation of your training, your conversational abilities in Sy Bisti and I will teach you another rare language, that might prove useful in the future: Minisat.”

Harry was speechless and just nodded breaking his intense gaze. She wouldn’t have been able to produce more than a squeak. What training was he talking about? The only thing she was remotely looking forward to was the promise of learning another language.

“Furthermore, you will record a message for your people, pledging your allegiance to the empire.” Thrawn informed her with a barely visible lopsided grin.

She quickly straightened in her seat, cold sweat running down her back. His demands became worse by the second. She was known to be an outspoken enemy of fascist regimes, thanks to her social media presence before the empire’s arrival. A recording of her pledging her allegiance to such a regime would entirely ruin her reputation, disappoint quite a lot of people, mark her as a traitor to her own believes and incite others to “follow her example” and enlist. There had to be a way out of this. Even if she would be able to reach the rebels one day, as unrealistically as it sounded, they would never be able to believe her after this. Thrawn was forcing her to accept her service to the empire and as his aide he would be constantly breathing down her neck. He had successfully trapped her, and she hated to be stuck.

 _But you have the opportunity to document all the atrocities_. Her mind told her. Should the empire fall one day, then they would need evidence for prosecution. Message within a message? Came to her mind. She had to find out what kind of recording they would create. Visual or auditive. Both ways could be highjacked by her. So, perhaps not all hope was lost.

She schooled her features and nodded hesitantly “Understood, Sir. Anything else?”

“You will keep any contact with the Terran troopers to a minimum.” He ordered her sternly and her shoulders slumped slightly. She did not like them much, but they were her means to communicate with her family. Now, he was trying to alienate her from her own people. What else would he throw at her? He did this with purpose “Understood, Sir.”

Thrawn gestured her to stand up and she quickly complied. He was standing to close and she took a small step back to put some distance between them. The Chiss stood with his hands behind his back and scrutinizing her thoroughly.

“Mixed loyalties are a luxury no officer of the Imperial Fleet can afford. I’m willing to put you under my protection, risking the wrath of our emperor, should he detect you among my ranks and I can ease the situation of your planet, but in return I expect your unwavering loyalty to me.” He proclaimed locking her gaze with his glowing red eyes.

Loyalty to him? Not to the empire? Was this another trap? But loyalty to him did mean automatically, that she swore loyalty to the empire? Did it? But, where did his loyalty lie? With the Empire or the Chiss? How would he choose if the empire decided to attack his people? Was he offering her a middle ground? If she swore allegiance to him and he sided with the Chiss against the empire did this mean that she would have to follow him? Well, as unlikely as this situation was, but giving the empire hell would be a bonus to that. How could he ease the situation on her planet? She hoped that he didn’t make empty promises on that front. She had to properly think this through, but unfortunately the long hours of the surprising day started to cloud her mind.

“Do you swear loyalty to me?” Thrawn queried again, never letting her break the gaze.

He had her trapped for now and she decided that until she had a better understanding of what her new position entailed, she would play nicely and play along.  Crossing Thrawn was not something she dared for the near future.

She squared her shoulders holding her gaze and answered. “Yes, I swear loyalty to you, Sir.”

 Thrawn inclined his head, never breaking eye contact with her. “A wise decision. It is therefore with great pride that I present to you the Rank of Lieutenant Potter.”


	17. On the way to Lothal

_“Where have you been?” her twin brother asked her when she stepped out of the fireplace. “You are in trouble now.” His grin mouth widened into a malicious grin, but Harriet remained calm. She had made the first friend in the magical world and the Malfoy’s had even given her access to their library after Snape’s lesson and lend her some of the books Snape had suggested for her. So, she would not let herself get riled up by her irritate brother._

_“Mum! Dad!” he shouted in a singsong voice, but Harriet just rolled her eyes and walked past him._

_“Potes meos suaviari clunes.” (=You can kiss my ass). She told him knowing full well that he would be unable to understand it and he stopped startled probably fearing that she had just cursed him, but she could already hear steps coming towards them. Oh joy. Another confrontation with her parents. The books became heavier. Perhaps she shouldn’t have taken them all. She shifted her weight to keep them in her arms and quickly ran towards the chairs. Suddenly, her sense shifted, and it was as if she became somehow more aware of her surroundings. The colours seemed more vivid, her brother’s movements seemed to have become slower as he stepped towards the kitchen shouting for her parents. She shook her head, but the feeling remained. She reached the bottom of the stairs and …jumped skipping a few steps. But… She wasn’t just skipping one or two steps as usual. No… She was flying. What in Merlin’s name? Ok, well not flying, but she jumped more steps than usual. A second later she landed safely on her feet and bent her knees to balance her uneven weight and almost dropped back.  She repeated that until she reached her floor, the strange sensation not going away. A few seconds later she quickly reached her room and locked the heavy door behind her, quickly hiding the books under her bed._

_As quickly as that feeling had appeared, it subsided again, and fought to sway towards the direction of her bed and not onto the cold hard floor. No sooner did she close her eye-lids as she drifted off to an uneasy sleep, which was how her confused parents found her. Unable to wake her again._

* * *

_  
_

“You are investigating Astoria’s untimely death? Why” Narcissa asked not quite believing it sitting next to her husband. The Wizarding society had pretty much shunned them after Voldemort’s demise. They had been on the wrong side most of the time anyway. They had only become friendlier when they had needed funding for the restauration of Hogwarts.

“Why now? What has brought this on?” Lucius asked calmly. After all it was not a secret that the Ministry had a certain distaste dealing with them after the second Wizarding War.

“The Ministry classifies your wife’s demise as suspicious and there are some people in the Ministry who are afraid that a similar curse might down them too.” The Auror explained addressing the younger Malfoy.

“Did your wife have any enemies? Anyone who’d wanted to harm her? Anything that she could have done to trigger the curse.”

Draco wrecked his head. Whenever she had drawled on about the newest gossip and the severe fights among the pureblood circles he had drowned her out. “Not that I know of.” He answered hesitantly.

“She wasn’t particularly warm towards muggle-borns or half-bloods, but I’m certain that none of them would have done anything against her. They hardly wouldn’t have known anything about this curse.”

The other two Malfoy’s nodded until Narcissa blinked when a thought hit her. “Although, …she did have a severe fight with Theodore Nott a few years ago. If I’m not mistaken, it was shortly after our grandson was born.”

“Do you know what it was about?” The second auror asked pepping up noting the information down.

Narcissa sighed and shook her head. “No, unfortunately not. Perhaps the Greengrass know more about it?” she suggested. The first auror nodded giving them a calming smile. “We will ask them about it. Thank you.”

The second auror put his little notebook away and pulled out a parchment. “St. Mungos has forbidden us to take a closer look into your wife’s healing files and we would ask your permission to give it to the Unspeakable working on this case. The person might find something about the curse that has been overlooked.” He handed the scroll to the younger Malfoy who took it calmly and unscrolled it, reading the fine print diligently.

After a while he his eyes narrowed. “This is not just about my wife’s files. With this formulation you’d also be entitled to investigate my son’s files.” The other two Malfoys also frowned.

“We are investigating in every direction and as this seems to be an old curse it is important that we find it quickly before another person might be affected. That is the reason why we also need a peak into Scorpius Malfoy’s files.”

Draco nodded in understanding but there was something that the Aurors didn’t tell him. He was a Slytherin. He knew when someone held back information.

 The healers had broken their newest law by working with a Muggle hospital. As much as he wanted to lash out at them for not being able to do anything to help Astoria, he knew that they had dedicated every second of their time trying to find out how to help her. The Wizarding world needed healers like them. Perhaps his favourite Ravenclaw could have saved his wife, but as he knew full well. She was far away somewhere in the vast galaxy. And, even if she had been here he wasn’t entirely sure how she would have reacted had he asked her for her help.  

Then another thought struck him, and he was growing heated. What if the healers had lied to his face and not done anything to safe Astoria. Was Scorpius still in danger? They had Knowledge about Muggle Technology. So, chances were high that they were either Muggle born or Half-bloods. He couldn’t remember if they had told him their blood status. Probably not. Who’s to say that they didn’t hold a grudge against her?

He bent forward and pulled out a silver and green custom-made muggle pen, which he had been gifted by his favourite Ravenclaw and that he had never been able to get rid of.  He quickly signed the parchment and handed it back to the two investigators.

“I don’t want any of this find it’s way into the Daily Prophet or that Gibbler.” He told them darkly.

 “We can’t make any promises as you know that the bug seems to have a source of information that we are as of yet not aware of, but we will do our best.” One of the aurors answered soothingly with an apologetic expression.

“That does not assure me at all.” Lucius drawled staring at the two thinking about paying the troublesome journalist a visit to make sure that she would not babble beforehand.

* * *

 

 Harry sighed heavily sitting on her new cot taking in her small quarters fiddling with her new rank plate Thrawn had given her together with her new code cylinder. Her day was finally coming to an end and she looked forward to catching some sleep before they would reach Lothal. After their little duel of words, which she clearly had lost, he had sent her off to get her new uniform. To her dismay it had taken longer than she had anticipated as the annoying droids had forced her to get measured again. The overall of crewmen and midshipman was supposed to sit loosely, whereas the uniforms of the officers had to fit the wearer to the millimetre. And those droids had grated on her nerves with all their needless suggestions. They must have been programmed by Coruscanti personnel as there were apparently several different fashions among the military clothing, that she had been unaware of. She had no patience about hearing which distance between the buttonholes was more fashionable than the other, which polish on her boots would suit her better and so on.

 She had just told those things that she didn’t care as long as it fit her. Well, maybe a bit too forcefully as those droids had tutted some reply. Great, droids that could curse. She needed to update her skills to droidspeak.

 She didn’t like the tight uniform, especially as it reminded her what it represented, but she had to admit that at least her new shining boots were comfy, and she didn’t have to cut her hair that often as she had received new instructions on how to braid it according to the navy’s guidelines. But those guidelines were not for Potter hair, which had a life on its own. She was pretty sure that there had to have been a Medusa or something similar in her ancestry. Her hair had a life of its own. No wonder her grandfather had invented Sleekeazy Hair potion to tame their family’s hair. But she had only one bottle left in her case and was too afraid to use it. But her Lieutenant’s cap would certainly help her cover it.  So, even though her rank of lieutenant was technically not high enough to have her own quarters with her own cot and workstation, as the deck master had informed her disdainfully, it was one of the privileges of being the Grand Admiral’s aide. Although it was an upgrade, she still had to go out to the shared unisex refreshers. _Oh Joy_. But at least there would be cabins.

“Are you alone?” A young voice asked her, and Harry jumped shrieking and missing the edge of her cot, plumbing out of her cot with racing heart as she hit the cold durasteel floor. _Ouch!_

She slowly, heavily breathing sat up again, turning her head towards the headboard and spotted the familiar young boy sitting where her pillow should be.

“Don’t. ever. scare me like that.” She ground out clutching her heart and raising her right index finger half warningly and half-jokingly. The blonde boy smiled cheekily at her with happily glowing eyes, but there was an air of sadness lurking behind. But with his disarming smile she just couldn’t stay angry at him and she returned the smile with almost silent laughter.

“Do you know what a radar is?” he asked her curiously.

“Sorry, what?” Why was he asking her that?

“There was a woman with a funny hat at my maman’s wake. I think she’s called Augusta Longbottom.” He burst into a short giggle.

“It’s a funny name, isn’t it?” she asked him standing up from the floor and sitting back gently at her cot.

The little boy continued giggling and nodded with shaking shoulders. “Ahm…and…and she said that I should tell you that I’m real and that I should make sure that you are alone because you are already on the radar of some Grand Admiral Thrown.”

Now it was on her to giggle. The way he pronounced Thrawn was simply hilarious.

“But I don’t know what a radar is. Nana and Grandfather don’t know either and father says that I should ask my tutors. But they don’t know either. “the little boy told her sadly.

“That’s probably because you do not have Muggle Tutors.” She told him. “A dangerous oversight of the Wizarding Society. Perhaps you should ask Teddy Lupin if he can lend you some of his books that I’ve gifted him with. You could ask him if he lends you his collection of ‘Kids Britannica’. He’s my godchild you know. Probably a few years older than you”

“You know Teddy?!” the little boy called out excitedly straightening. “Teddy is my best friend and he can change his hair to any colour.” She smiled at him and was suddenly hit with an idea. About an hour ago she had recorded the message Thrawn had written for her during the time she got measured. She had brought the elderly communications officer close to the brink of insanity with her clearly visible defiance. But it had been necessary to cover the secret message back to her home planet for everyone to see. Right under the empire’s dirty noses. She only hoped that Thrawn wouldn’t figure it out. That would probably cost her head. But the opportunity had been too good to let pass. And she was certain that her children from her charity program would spot her message. They were a force to be reckoned with after having received the opportunity to go to school.

Those signs of defiance had been necessary as the Chiss commander would probably spot her hidden code far easier if she had complied with his orders. And she suspected that he probably expected her to show defiance.

And if the boy was indeed not a fragment of her imagination as Augusta had suggested then this could be her chance to inform at least one person beforehand about the hidden message. Or perhaps she was really losing her mind.

“Do you know who Samuel F.B. Morse was?” She asked him murmuring conspiratorially lowering her voice, while leaning closer too him on her cot. He shook his head. 

“Well, when you visit Teddy, get the Encyclopaedia Kids Britannica. He has a copy, I know it. Look up Samuel F.B. Morse and what he has invented. The empire will show a holovid of me everywhere on the official channels in probably a few days and I want you two to decipher the hidden message inside. Look at my hands or my eyes. Ok? This is very important. Do you understand what you have to do?”

He nodded seemingly understanding the importance. “Alright.” he whispered back.

“I don’t know if you are real…” she told him.

“I. am. Real.” The little boy angrily protested forcefully leaning forward and reaching out to her with his right hand touching her closest one to him.

A shock, reminiscent of an electric shock ran through her and she jumped back in her seat breaking the contact. She had sensed the little boy’s hand as an image of her house’s ceiling had flared up in her mind accompanied with a warm, exuberant emotion that she could not ever remember having. It had seemed as if she had been lying on the cold ground with her back looking up at the high old ornamented ceiling she had restaurated once. But she couldn’t remember when she had been lying under this part, which was close to the bottom of her stair house. There was a tear floating down her cheek, which she wiped away in surprise.

The little boy also looked at her with slightly glassy eyes and a dreamy expression that made her uncomfortable.

“Why don’t you sing anymore?” the little boy asked her gently bringing her back to reality. Whatever reality seemed to be.

“What? I haven’t sung in years.” She answered him with raspy voice wondering why he asked her that. “Not, since I’ve joined the empire and without training my voice is gone. But I think it’s Astoria who has sung for you.”

 He shook his head, with small tears gathering in his eyes. “No, she sounded strangely. I’m sure that it was you singing this. I just remembered. You sang: Goodnight my angel. Time to close your eyes. And save these questions for another day. I think I know what you've been asking me. I think you know what I've been trying to say. I promise I would never leave you...”

Harry shrieked and jumped up with racing heart again coldness washing over her. She needed to get away. She was haunted, and she had no idea why.

“Stop it! Go away!” she hissed vehemently turning away. She had sung this every evening during her pregnancy, when she could be sure that he was developed enough to recognize her voice. Tears started to gather in her eyes. She couldn’t hold them back. The baby had always calmed when she had sung this little ditty, and he had been a very active baby. She couldn’t get out of her little quarters or everybody would see her cry, but she couldn’t remain here. If her little room was under observation they might think her to be a nutcase anyway. _Wait_. She froze. Why had she thought about this boy being her son? Her son was dead. But why was she seeing him and that little shock from earlier had to be something. Maybe she had an attack of her temporal lobe. That would explain the apparitions and her mind. But then, she did not exactly feel very religious at the moment. So, schizophrenia? That also didn’t quite fit. She needed to go to the hospital deck.

“Sorry.” The little boy murmured apologetically. She forced herself to breath out. “I have no clue why I keep seeing you.” She wiped her tears away and put her hands at her hips breathing heavily. She could not look like she had cried when meeting Thrawn at the bridge. She didn’t want to show any weakness.

“You don’t like me?” the little boy asked, and he was clearly tearing up.

“No. No. That’s not it. I do like you.” she assured him again turning away from him so that she would be able to hold back her tears. “But…You remind me of my… my… my… son. You’re about the same age as he would be now.”

She couldn’t hold them back. A new wave of tears was floating and wrecked her body. She had thought that she had gotten over her grieve, but apparently her raw emotions were running rampant again. Just like the time she had found out about it.

“Seeing you reminds me of what he could have been: Handsome, intelligent, sweet. It hurts.” She hit her constricting heart with her right hand while sliding down the wall to the floor crying. Her magical core was unsteady. She could feel it pulsating and only hoped that she would not do accidental magic. No, the way it was pulsating was indicating that her magic hat slipped. Her self-created necklace protected her from being sensed by other magical or force users, but Thrawn probably wouldn’t take it kindly if she lost control again in his own destroyer and wrecked it by accident. _Breathe!_

“And then you suddenly begin to sing this Muggle good night song.” She trailed of in thought. _Could it be?_ She observed him closer. His unruly hair was blond like Draco’s and his features looked almost identical to her former boyfriend. She locked eyes with him. They were grey like his fathers, but maybe it was just the light in her quarter, but it seemed that there was some green around his irises. _No, it’s wishful thinking_.

She shook her head. But what if someone had actually obliviated her and that was her son? If that boy was her son, then where was the other Malfoy? How? Had someone purposely exchanged them?

 _No! Get a grip, Harry!_ _Wishful thinking_. She scolded herself. That’s way too much effort to cover up. The red tape and paperwork alone would be massive. And magically altering the pureblood family tree tapestries in the old manors would be a Sisyphos task. But not impossible. No, she was just wishing so hard for her son to be alive. And the poor little boy had just lost his mother. He probably just craved for motherly contact. But doubt lingered in the back of her mind. But then how did he know that song?

The little boy was tearing up as well. Merlin it’s been a long day and it seemed that it was far from being over. Her heart broke seeing his tears streaming down his little cheeks. “Please don’t cry.” She begged him, but he only hickuped. She desperately wanted to take him into her arms to soothe him but did not dare it. He felt lost. She could sense it. Why could she suddenly sense his feelings? Or did she project his onto him?

 

 

* * *

 

…

I’m hereby asking you to trust in the Empire again, which brings peace and prosperity to the galaxy. It will solve our most dire problem of global warming, make sure that nobody will go hungry any longer and it will make our planet great again. (She grimaced for some reason)

Follow my example! Enlist to the empire. Enlist, do your duty to ensure the safety of our galaxy.

 

Thrawn finally shut off the recording of his new aide, but Vanto knew him well enough by now that he was still contemplating something.

“Is that the pledge of alliance you forced her to record?” he asked.

“Yes.” Thawn answered calmly. “Yes. It is one in Basic, but her monotone intonation clearly indicates her displeasure of recording it and this was one of the very few recordings in Basic that she did not disrupt.”

“Disrupt?” Vanto asked frowning.

“Yes.” Thrawn seemed amused. “She experimented with different accents, exaggerated gestures. One recording is just an extensive list of curse words of different galactic languages but presented as if being a speech. Where she picked up those words is worth investigating as they are not in the Empire’s database. In this recording she emulates a Coruscanti accent. Quite well, I might add. But I find it more interesting that she blinks systematically with her eyes in all the recordings.

“Systematic?” Vanto frowned wondering why the Chiss didn’t particularly worry about a reported flood in the main Hanga Bay “Are you sure? Maybe she was just concentrating on the text?”

“No, she knew the text by heart after her first read.” Thrawn informed him.

“I compared her version of her lingua franca of her planet with the basic version and all the discarded versions. The imperial protocol droid stationed on Terra confirmed that she complied and translated the text into what he called ‘English”. Yet the blinking of her eyes is the same. She is blinking, looking to the side, blinking, looking to the side, where the communication officer must have been standing. In some recordings she does the same with her prominent hand. She might try using a secret code.”

“And probably tries to undermine the official message.” Vanto snorted fighting a smile at the young woman’s audaciousness but wondered if she had believed to be able to sneak this under Thrawn’s watchful eyes.

“Do you know what the code is?” the young man asked him, but Thrawn shook his head. “As of yet, I have no information which code she is using. Even the protocol droid is unaware of any secret code like that.

“Are you going to let her repeat her performance? I mean, if she uses a code, then there must be someone who can decode it.”

“Indeed. There is. Unfortunately, there is no time for a repeated recoding. The imperial propaganda office requests her statements within the next hour and we are to join with Admiral Konstantin’s fleet close to the Lothal system.” Thrawn remarked calmly. “But we might turn this to our advantage.

“You are letting her go through with it in hope to find the intended recipient?” Vanto nodded having seen a similar tactic before from his boss.

“Indeed. But it is more likely that the coded message is intended for more than just one recipient. Terra is known for having been a formidable opponent against the late 27th fleet and the following 35th, despite fighting with their rather primitive weaponry. There are too many culturally different fractions on her planet for such a coordinated defence to successfully being carried out.” Thrawn answered.

 “It’s more likely that a few influential individuals were able to see above the petty grievances of their fractions and were willing to work together, forcing their military units to comply. Our newly appointed lieutenant might be addressing the survivors of these very people who most likely have fled underground.”

Vanto nodded in understanding. As far as he had seen the young woman had never been well at taking orders. She seemed to be used to giving those.

“But if she is addressing them, she hardly will tell them to attack knowing the sheer numbers of imperial fleets.”

“Her system is still under lockdown for the time being.” Thrawn answered him with his fingertips together. “It’s likely that she tells them to bide their time until the tide turns towards the rebellion.”

“All the more reason, not to make her your aide.” Vanto told the Chiss again for what felt like a hundredths time. If she is sympathetic to the Rebellion the Lothal sector might not be the ideal location for her right now.”

Having Force powers made her an even bigger incalculable risk and he dreaded to leave the Chiss alone with her.

 “If she is a Force user, then what stops her from abusing it. What if she gets on the bad side of the High Command. As your aide she is bound to rub shoulders with some of them. Rumour has it that Pryce only received her governorship under Grand Moff Tarkin’s initiative. What if one of them realizes that she is an actual Force User, who has not been reported to the Inquisitorius and Lord Vader? The strange happenings on the Chimera will not go unnoticed. She flooded the hanger bay a few minutes ago! It could draw the attention of the Inquisitorius, Vader or the emperor himself. And I really wouldn’t want to be in your boots if the emperor were to find out that you hid a force user right under his long nose.”

Thrawn listening intently to his former aide’s advice widened his eyes in surprise at the statement, while Vanto bit his lips in embarrassment. _I did not just say that!_ But to be fair the emperor did have a rather interesting nose. He shook his head. Seemed that the rebellious Lieutenant had influenced him as well.

 “Thank you for your concern. However, I have my own reasons on why I will keep her as my aide.  As I’ve told you before, her nature does not allow her to abuse it. So far, her actions have proven this.  She protects and nurtures even though she despises being part of the Empire. She was able to see through her anger and see the individuals behind the uniform, who needed her help. Most importantly, she resents killing. As to her being found out. She has hidden her powers quite well so far as she uses her mind rather than her power. Her slips are unfortunately, but I believe that she will be able to get those under control as well under the right tutelage. Additionally, if the emperor or Lord Vader would have sensed her on Coruscant, she would not have made it back to the Chimera. Therefore, she might be able to mask it even from the might of our two Sith Lords.”

“But if the emperor finds out he might decommission you.” Vanto rebuked. “…if you are lucky.”

“If the emperor finds out, then I will tell him that she is used to the empire’s advantage to root out the growing rebellion. He may call me a traitor and hand her over to Lord Vader, but after failing to curb the growing rebellion he may know better to ignore my recommendations.”

“If the emperor finds out I recommend denying any knowledge of her being a force user.” Vanto suggested strongly not being quite so sure about the emperor. He had stood in front of him once and those scary yellow eyes had seemed to penetrate his entire being.

“There is no need for you to worry. I thank you for your suggestion, but we need to utilize every weapon at our disposal if we're to defeat the rebellion:

 ‘One must be able to read an ally's strengths, so as to determine how to best use them. One must similarly be able to read his enemy's weaknesses, to determine how to best defeat him.’” Thrawn quoted what Vanto already knew to be a Chiss proverb or at least Thrawn had told him that this was a proverb of his people. “

He nodded in understanding.

“The Rebels of the so-called Phoenix Squadron are known to have two Jedi as it’s members. Having one obscured Force user of our own, different to those they have encountered before, might prove advantageous for us.” Thrawn surmised.

 “Or… as she is a rebel sympathizer might defect to them.” Vanto pointed out. “She clearly is unable to control her powers. So, she might seek them out if the opportunity arises.”

“She won’t.” The Chiss shook his head.  “I gave her enough incentive not to do that. Some of her private artwork is currently on its way to the Chimera. I’m positive that in time she will see reason.”

“Well, I certainly hope so.” Vanto sighed knowing that the stubborn Chiss would not be swayed. “Because I won’t be able to have your back, while I’m gone, Sir.”

“Yes. But you might hear about it when we will see each other again.” The Chiss remarked calmly.

“Are you positively certain that you want to undertake this delicate mission?” he asked him again fixating him with his glowing red eyes.

“Absolutely, Sir.” Vanto answered eagerly. Thrawn trusted him enough to send him to his own very secretive people, which meant that he was considered honourable enough by the Chiss standing before him and that was high honour indeed. He could finally meet others of Thrawn’s kind. He would meet others of the mysterious warriors of the legends he had heard so much about on Lysatra. Was Thrawn unique or where all of the Chiss leadership like him? There was no way that he would let this unique opportunity pass. Even if it meant that could be branded a traitor to the empire. No, Thrawn had his back.

“Very good.” Thrawn nodded and handed him a data pad. “These are some extracts from my personal journal. The coordinates are inside, but you must be careful. Those hyperlane routes are sparsely travelled. Admiral Ar'alani of the Chiss Defense Fleet will be expecting you.”

“You’ve been in contact with her?” Vanto asked him surprised, but Thrawn shook his head.

“Not since before I’ve joined the empire. But you’ll find that we have our very own sources of information. It might give you some insight on how useful my new aide might become in the future.”

* * *

“Mh, mum. That’s really good.” Tonks mentioned when she practically inhaled the Irish stew.

“Your welcome, dear.” The elder Tonks nodded. “How was your day today?”

“Boring as usual.” Tonks complained to her family and she spotted her son and his father exchange amused smiles. “But Clobberfield and Winston got a top-secret investigation from Kingsley, today. The Potters, Sirius and Weasley were quite jealous and rather vocal about it.”

“Do you know what it is about?” Remus asked her frowning at her, but she only shook her head.

“No, Haven’t the foggiest. But whatever it is must be serious. For the time of their investigation they received their own office, which we are not allowed to enter, and they are working closely together with one Unspeakable and are to answer directly to Kingsley.”

The entire family was raised their eyes in wonder. Something seemed to be going on.

“I mean, would I have loved to be part of that investigation? Hell yes, but it also seems to be the kind of which you don’t have a private live anymore.”

“Well, then I’m glad you haven’t received the case.” Remus told her smiling knowing full well how adventurous his wife was when it came to solving cases.

Suddenly their cosy calm was interrupted by loud clash in the living room, followed by a small exclamation:” Ouch.”

Tonks and Remus quickly exchanged a worried gaze, tossed their spoons into their bowls and dashed to the next room, followed by their son and the elderly Tonks.

When they reached their living room they had to cough as a small cloud of ash came towards them. Remus quickly banished the smoke and ash back to the fire place and saw a familiar young boy covered in dirt and ash lying on his back looking sheepishly up to him.

“Hi Remus, Hi Tonks.” He waved happily turning to his side and stood up.

Remus tried to brush off the dust from the little boy but gave up when he squirmed. “Scorpius, it’s late. What are you doing here?” he asked him.

“I need a book.” The little boy urgently told him. “It’s important.”

He tried to get past Remus, but Andromeda stopped him tattering. “Not like this, young man. Scourgify.”

“Ah. Yes, that’s better. Thank you.” The little boy, now free of the ash agreed.

“Please I need the Kids Encyclopaedia Britannica.” He told the family with big pleading eyes. The puppy eyes always worked on his grandmother. He hoped that they would work on them too.

“Sure, I’ll show you.” Teddy chirped in. “Which volume do you need?”

“Volume?” Scorpius wondered. “There are more?” Why hadn’t Harry told him that?

“Yeah sure.” Teddy nodded. “All that knowledge couldn’t fit into one book.”

“What is it that you want to look up? Why couldn’t this wait until the morning?” Remus asked him curiously. “Does Draco know that you are here?”

Now the little boy squirmed again. “You know uncle Remus. Funny you should ask...” he began. Teddy giggled knowing full well what that meant, and Andromeda sighed.

“Scorpius?” Tonks asked him sternly fighting hard not to break into laughter.

“He was in grandfather’s office and I really needed that book. Harry said that it’s important.”

Remus jumped with accelerated heartbeat. “Harry? Did you say Harry? Harry said that it’s important? But I thought she’s missing.” His voice was unsteady. He couldn’t mean his goddaughter. The boy had never met her and he (Remus) hadn’t heard anything from her after she had decided to take Dudley’s place.

“She’s not missing. She is far away on a big Star Destroyer in the galaxy and serves a really big scary blue guy.” Scorpius corrected him. “The man has scary red eyes.” He whispered.

“How do you know that?” Andromeda asked curiously stepping closer.

Scorpius just shrugged. “I just do. I can see her and speak with her. She told me that I should ask Teddy if he could lend me his Encyclopaedia Britannica because it’s important. I know that she is Teddy’s godmother.”

“That she is.” Remus told him flabbergasted. Teddy must have told him, but he usually was tight lipped about it because he missed her as well.

“But how do you speak with her?” Andromeda asked him squatting down to his height. “Do you have a mirror or something else?”

“No!” Scorpius told her stomping his foot. “It just happens. I get this feeling and then I can just see her. But only her and she can see me. Sometimes I dream about her and the places she is.” He explained to them. “Do you know that she doesn’t even sing anymore?” he asked them sadly.

“Can I have that volume now? I need to look up a Samuel F. B. Morse and what he has invented.”

“That’s the inventor of the Morse Code!” Teddy exclaimed in excitement. “We learned it at the scout’s summer camp.” His excitement diminished slightly clearly remembering that he could not visit his muggle scout group anymore.

“Really!” Scorpius shouted contracting Teddys excitement. “She said that the empire would show her in a few days. She wants us.” He circled his hands “to decipher the hidden message.”

Remus shook his head. There was no way that the little boy could have talked to Harry, but he seemed to believe that he did. It was more likely that Draco still had a picture of his former fiancé somewhere and Scorpius had spotted it and subconsciously tried to make sense of it. Especially now after his mother’s passing.

Remus locked eyes with his wife who just shrugged at him. Her mother was anxiously biting her lips.

“Alright. Teddy, take Scorp and show him the entry of Samuel F.B.Morse. I’ll have to inform Draco that his son is here.”

* * *

 It was silent in the spacious dark throne room.  He stretched out with his thoughts again. Not a day ago, he had sensed a barely detectable disturbance in the force. Normally he would not give such minor disturbances a second glance as his apprentice’s inquisitors had to deal with those weak insignificant creatures. But this one had peaked his interest. Although he had barely able to sense that individual, the presence had left rather strong ripples in the force that should not have been there with weak presence like that. He even had lost that presence temporarily, which was rare for him. He could sense disturbances in the entire galaxy, but this individual was intriguing. The only logical explanation was that the individual was trying to mask its true power but was not always successful. And that individual had been close to his vicinity of power earlier. It was an intriguing, yet also disconcerting. He would have lost the presence entirely, but luckily the presence had shortly flared up and created other small ripples in the Force. Yet, he still could not pinpoint the individual’s presence. He or she seemed to be everywhere in the galaxy and nowhere. He would need to keep a closer eye on his apprentice. He doubted that Vader had been able to sense this little disturbance as he was heavily engaged in a challenging mission to find a certain elusive Kiffar Jedi Master  in the Outer Rim, but as every Sith apprentice he had aspirations to become a master again and Palpatine had no desire to allow him to detect that delicious individual.

“I’ll find you.” The hooded emperor murmured with gravel voice. “You can’t hide from me.”

 

* * *

 

In her narrow quarters Harry shot up from her cot screaming, drenched in sweat with racing heartbeat and difficulties in breathing. Something cold had reached out to her. It had been faint, but she shivered in terror. Could she not have one moment of peace for herself? She wondered.

 


	18. Transmission

_It was_ later _afternoon on a Saturday. The greasy wet weather had finally caught up with the season and she was finally back at school and the Dursleys. Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to do anything else at home, she had persuaded the Dursley’s to let her drive to school by bus so that she could use the library like all the other students. Raymond and Anthony were sitting next to her their noses buried in large tomes of books themselves. Once a month she was visiting the greasy haired potions master, who also had established her contact with other teachers of Hogwarts with whom she was now regularly corresponding via owl post. Thankfully they all kept their correspondence with her from the headmaster at her request. It now meant that her workload had doubled. The only thing she still missed was a wand, but she knew that her parents wouldn’t buy her one. She planned on_ fast tracking _her wizarding education in order to avoid being forced to go to Hogwarts. The Malfoy library aided her pursuit immensely. But she also needed to keep her grades up in the Muggle World. She could not slip. Her last maths test would probably be an A-. That was_ an horrific _idea. The Muggle World was her future. Not the Wizarding world._

 _A_ prefect _whom she shared her fencing class with, Wendy, silently walked up to her and whispered:” Sorry to bother you, Harriet. Headmaster Giles would like to talk to you.”_

_“Really? Why?” She asked blood draining from her face. Her two friends also interrupted their reading. Had she failed her last Maths exam? She couldn’t have. Would she have to go?_

_“Yes. I don’t know.” Wendy shrugged. “It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”_

_The way to the headmaster’s office was a long one and Harriet knew that she should not keep him waiting. Each sound resounded dully from the tiled floor. But what could he possibly want from_ her. _Her heart grew heavy. She didn’t want to leave this school. It was her sanctuary._

_…_

_“Ah. Miss Potter.” He greeted her cleaning his glasses. Something that he always did when he was nervous. “Please come in. Come in.”_

_“I’m sorry Professor.” She asked him. “Did I do something wrong?”_

_“Oh, no of course not. No. No. No.” he assured her shaking his head. “It’s just. You do know that you have a scholarship_ in _our school.” He began._

_“No. The scholarship is running out?” she whispered with trembling voice her heartbeat accelerating._

_“No, of course not.” He laughed. “Well, technically, there is no scholarship.”_

_“What?!” Harriet shrieked hot and cold showers rushing down her back._

_“Ahm, yes, well.  But our school has patrons who are providing the opportunity of a scholarship to very special individuals. Individual’s like yourself.” Giles told her._

_Harriet gaped at him. She couldn’t utter a word. So many questions were racing through her head. She had no idea where to begin._

_“Well, your patron, a former_ alumna _of this school is very curious about you and wants to meet you.” He told her._

_Harry breathed out evenly. Ok. Well, that she could probably handle. But she had to make a good impression otherwise the patron could decide to retract her funding._

_“Alright. When?” she asked her headmaster curiously. Now she had to prepare. She had to plan._

_“Now.” He told her._

_“Now!?” She protested with a shrill voice hectically brushing through her hair trying to pat it. “But it’s Saturday. I don’t wear my uniform. I’m going to make a bad impression.”_

_Headmaster Giles giggled. That was so wrong. A headmaster should not giggle. Harriet thought in panic. “You have already impressed her, Ms. Potter. She just wants to meet you personally.”_

_With_ that _he stepped towards the carved wooden doors in his office and opened them revealing a deathly pale female with tightly wound blood-red hair and dark red lips. She wore a tight-fitting ornamented leather cloak with shining stiletto heel boots. Harriet would have believed her to be a vampire hadn’t she stood at the open window relishing in the sunlight with a content smile. The woman had a sharp penetrating gaze and her smile seemed a tad bit sly once she locked eyes with her. Somehow Harriet had the impression that this woman wasn’t one to be trifled with even though she appeared to be pleasant._

 _“Ah, so this is my little protégé, I’ve heard so much about?” her velvet feminine voice asked moving towards Harriet with a smoothness that reminded her of her_ favourite _feline animal._

_“Baroness de la Roque” her headmaster addressed the woman. “May I present Harriet Thea Athena Potter.”_

_“It’s a pleasure to meet you,_ madame. _” Harry said nervously bobbing a curtsey, not exactly knowing what to do._

 _The Baroness laughed about it in good_ humour _and shook her head. “The pleasure is all mine. Well, nobody ever has curtseyed at me before. That’s a first. No, you really don’t need to do this.”_

_Harriet grinned awkwardly at her and the woman seemed to understand her predicament and winked at her._

_“Giles, might I have a moment alone with her?” the Baroness asked. “There is much I’d like to discuss with her.”_

 

* * *

 

_My fellow citizens of Earth,_

_My name is Harriet Thea Athena Potter. I was born in London. Like many others of our people, I was pressed into our empire’s service.  I too partook in the rigorous basic training that came with the draft. But eventually my willingness to serve … our dear empire did not go unnoticed and gave me the opportunity to transfer to a naval academy. There I was shown the opportunity to become the very best of what I could achieve. Being a naval officer in the grand navy of our emperor.  I do not feel re morse for doing my duty. I follow the code of practice of the imperial navy with pride. After years of hard trials there, I received the high honour of being transferred to Grand Admiral Thrawn’s Flagship Chimera of the 7th fleet. _

_I exposed a dangerous serial offender who was threating the integrity of our empire by murdering innocents. He was misusing his powerful position and slaughtered hard-working members of the empire, just because he saw them as a threat to his own personal narrow world view. I could not stand idly by and let this continue. Everyone of these individuals could have been one of you. Murdered by a traitor, never being able to return home to their family. My effort was awarded as I was given the high honour of serving Emperor Palpatine under my Commander Grand Admiral Thrawn._

_I’m hereby asking you to trust in the Empire, which brings peace and prosperity to the galaxy. It will solve our most dire problem of global warming, make sure that nobody will ever go hungry again and it will make our planet great again. Men and women will have equal opportunities to reach their best potential._

_Heed my words. Do not wait for the conscription to come. Enlist now, serve our Nero, travel the galaxy and help bringing peace to troubled worlds like ours._

_Follow my example! Enlist to the empire. Enlist, do your duty to ensure the safety of our galaxy._

_If I was able to achieve all of that, so will you._

The transmission ended and the normal holonet channel resumed. Yet nobody continued to listen to it as the last video had been far too shocking. Imperial officials certainly noted that it had created a buzz among the populous, but to their dismay the information flow they were trying to curb since taking over the planet spiked and increased again and their request for more protocol droids had been denied by the high command. And there was indication that somebody was interfering with their efforts to curb the data flow.

Somewhere in the vast space of the dark net, where many social media platforms have now found refuge from the empire…

 **Matcha467:** I can’t believe that she would side with the empire!

 **Dudla69:** Matcha467 Oh Come on. After everything that she has tried to achieve here, do you really believe that she would side with them. She was forced to do that! Besides she sounds like she is falling asleep at any moment.

 **Matcha467:** That’s freaking Harry Potter! You do not simply force her to do something! She pretty much defied everyone to do what she thought was right. And I’m not going to start on all the inventions her company developed. Btw. What’s wrong with her eyes? She’s blinking like hell.

 **Loonybin666:** We’re all outmatched by the empire. And you can see that she is less than amused in doing so. Everyone knows that they wanted to take her cousin!

 **Chitchat999:** Matcha467. Can’t believe it either, but every person has a breaking point. If they have found it, then they could have turned her. And it seems they did. Her family is her breaking point.

 **Dampfplauderer1:** Why are you against the empire? You heard what you said. They are going to help us! #MEGA (=Make earth great again).

 **Dudla69:** BECAUSE THE EMPIRE ISN’T GOING TO HELP US AT ALL! THEY’RE USING OUR KIDS AND SEND THEM BACK IN COFFINS!!!! IF THEY SENT THEM BACK AT ALL!

 **Dampfplauderer1** : No need to shout snowflake. BS. Perhaps you should have taught your kids how to use a gun in the first place. Then the empire would be able to use them. So, don’t complain if they don’t make it back. My son’s going to enlist.

 **Matcha567:** So, Dampfplauderer1, you’re basically a traitor to your own planet. Nice. (a clue: not). Your son’s gonna die just like the rest of our kids. I feel sorry for him.

 **Dudla69:** Careful guys! Dampfplauderer1 might be an ISB agent. There is no chance that anyone could be as gullible as that.

 **Chitchat999** : Dudla69. I could name a few.

 **Loonybin666:** For god’s sake! Look at the recording! She is not siding with the empire! There are a few hidden clues that the empire has missed!

 **Dampfplauderer1** : THERE ARE NO HIDDEN CLUES! You’re the ones that are gollible. You just want to see something that isn’t there.

 **Dudla69:** Who’s the one shouting now? And it’s spelled gullible.

 **Dampfplauderer1:** Oh, shut it, grammar nazi.

 **Warg5** : Dampfplauderer1 is right. There are no hidden clues. Face it. She’s with the empire now. Best choice ever!

 **Chitchat999:** Yeah. No. Loonybin666 is right. Everyone knows she’s British. There are more than half a dozen interviews with her speaking with a British RP or London accent. Then why does she suddenly speak with the pronunciation of a German English learner?

 **Warg 5:** ‘cause she’s hardly speaking English anymore. So, what’s your point?

 **Dampfplauderer1:** Yeah right. You are just interpreting things into the video that aren’t there. Why am I not surprised?

 **Matcha467:** To tell us that the Empire are Space Nazis?

 **Dudla69** : No, it has to be more than that. Chitchat999 & Loonybin666 are right. She never does anything without meaning. Her compositions, songs, texts, poems even her interviews had a second layer. Everything has secondary meaning behind.

 **Loonybin666:** And she KNOWS that we know. Don’t know if you’ve realized, but there are two mispronounced words that can give us a clue.

 **Warg5:** K. I’m out. Keep believing in non-existing messages.

 **Dampfplauderer1** : Oh, I need to see what the pig-heads are coming up with.

 **Matcha467:** Yeah, ‘remorse’ and ‘code’.

 **Warg5:** Morse code?!!!!

 **Dudla69** : Hey! I thought you were gone Warg5? ;-)  Surprised you could make the connection.

 **Dampfplauderer1** : XD, XD, XD unbelievable. Why would she use a code that nobody uses or understands any longer? It became out of date with the invention of the telephone.

 **Warg5:** Ah. Nope. Morse Code was still used until the empire came. My brother had to learn it as a marine.

 **Matcha467** : Wonders never seize to amaze.

 **Dampfplauderer1.** Wait. What?! But apart from former military personnel, nobody else would be able to deceiver a message that isn’t there.

 **Dudla69** : There are more. Scouts are taught the international Morse code as well and the children from her school program. It’s in their curriculum.

 **Dampfplauderer1** : Well, too bad that her school program doesn’t exist anymore. Bound to fail from the beginning. That happens when you don’t let god into your school.

 **Loonybin666:** XD Just because nobody can’t see the schools anymore, doesn’t mean that they are not there. She loved those children and their families. Do you really believe that she would leave them unprotected? They still exist but have adapted to the new situation.  ‘God’ in schools? Which ‘god’ Dampfplauderer1? ‘God’, ‘Allah’, ‘Jahwe’, ‘Vishnu’, ‘Odin’, ‘Buddha’, ‘Quetzalcoatl’ etc…Her international school programs were secular for a reason! They had ethics classes instead.

 **Warg5:** That doesn’t make any sense Loonybin666!

 **Dudla69** : Can we get back to the topic at hand? Has anyone cracked her message yet?

 **Dampfplauderer1:** THERE IS NO MESSAGE!

 **Loonybin666:** Yes, we’re halfway through. She’s brilliant. Btw. Did you realize that she is actually using the term ‘Nero’ to describe the emperor? How did the empire not pick up on that?

 **Matcha467:** XD XD XD. Nice. Trolling the empire. XD.

 **Dudla69:** Yes, you are right! How did I miss that! XD.

 **Chitchat999:** Well, the empire would need to be versed in our history to understand the reference. So, they probably believe that Nero is just another word for emperor.

  **Loonybin666:** Ok. *drum rolls*: Her secret message comes in a minute:

 **Warg5:** What?! Are you saying that there is a secondary message?

 **Dampfplauderer1** : BS. There isn’t. They’ve just come up with it! It’s a forgery!

 **Loonybin666:**   And here it is: -.. .. -.. / -.-- --- ..- / .-. . .- .-.. .-.. -.-- / -... . .-.. .. . ...- . / - .... .- - / .. / .-- --- ..- .-.. -.. / ... ..- -... -- .. - / - --- / - .... .. ... / .-. . --. .. -- . ..--.. / -.. --- / -. --- - / . -. .-.. .. ... - -.-.-- / -.-- --- ..- / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / -... . -.-. --- -- . / -.-. .- -. -. --- -. / ..-. --- -.. -.. . .-. -.-.-- / .. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / -. --- - / -... . -. -.. / - .... . / -.- -. . . .-.-.- / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / -.-- --- ..- ..--.. / .--. .-.. .- -.-- / .- .-.. --- -. --. .-.-.- / -.- . . .--. / .- / .-.. --- .-- / .--. .-. --- ..-. .. .-.. . .-.-.- / -... .. -.. . / -.-- --- ..- .-. / - .. -- . .-.-.- / - .-. .- .. -. .-.-.- / ... .... --- ..- .-.. -.. / - .... . / -.. .-. .- ..-. - / -.-. --- -- . / --. .. ...- . / -.-- --- ..- .-. / -... . ... - / - --- / . -. ... ..- .-. . / .... .. --. .... . .-. / .-. .- -. -.- ... / .- -. -.. / -... . - - . .-. / .--. .-.. .- -.-. . -- . -. - ... .-.-.- / ... .... --- .-- / - .... --- ... . / -... .- ... - .- .-. -.. ... / .-- .... .- - / .-- . / .- .-. . / -- .- -.. . / --- ..-. .-.-.- / .-- . / -.-. .- -. / -... . / .- / ..-. --- .-. -.-. . / - --- / -... . / .-. . -.-. -.- --- -. . -.. / .-- .. - .... .-.-.- / .... .- ...- . / .--. .- - .. . -. -.-. . .-.-.- / -.. .- .-- -. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / -.-. --- -- . .-.-.- / - .... . / .-. . -... . .-.. .-.. .. --- -. / .. ... / --. .-. --- .-- .. -. --. .-.-.-

 **Dampfplauderer 1** : Are you kidding me?

 **Loonybin666:** Nope. Just triggering you Dampfplauderer1: Here’s the translation:

“Did you really believe that I would submit to this regime? Do not enlist! You will be cannon fodder! I will not bend the knee. Will you? Play along. Stay low. Bide your time. Train. Should the draft come give your best to ensure higher ranks and better placements. Show those bastards what we are made of. We can be a Force to be reckoned with. Have patience. Dawn will come. The rebellion is growing.”

 **Dampfplauderer1** **:** You just made that up. There is no way that she could hide that all in the message.

 **Loonybin666:** Well, she did. That’s why she talks as slowly as if to fall asleep at any moment. She was stretching the empires message to get hers through to us. Here’s part 2: ..- ... . / - .... .. ... / - --- / .-. . -.-. --- --. -. .. --.. . / . .- -.-. .... / --- - .... . .-. ---... It means: Use this to recognize each other.

 **Warg5:** Use what?

 **Loonybin666:** This: .- .-. . / -.-- --- ..- --..-- / .- .-. . / -.-- --- ..- / -.-. --- -- .. -. --. / - --- / - .... . / - .-. . . / - .... . -.-- / ... - .-. ..- -. --. / ..- .--. / .- / -- .- -. / - .... . -.-- / ... .- -.-- / .-- .... --- / -- ..- .-. -.. . .-. . -.. / - .... .-. . . / ... - .-. .- -. --. . / - .... .. -. --. ... / -.. .. -.. / .... .- .--. .--. . -. / .... . .-. . / -. --- / ... - .-. .- -. --. . .-. / .-- --- ..- .-.. -.. / .. - / -... . / .. ..-. / .-- . / -- . - / .- - / -- .. -.. -. .. --. .... - / .. -. / - .... . / .... .- -. --. .. -. --. / - .-. . .

Are you, are you  
Coming to the tree  
They strung up a man  
They say who murdered three  
Strange things did happen here  
No stranger would it be  
If we met at midnight  
In the hanging tree

 **Matcha467:** That is brilliant! Has a bit of Richard Lionheart flare doesn’t it?

 **Chitchat999:** It certainly does.

 **Dampfplauderer1** : Care to fill us in on your little private joke? Why should this poem help to recognize each other?

 **Warg5** : Because it isn’t a poem. It’s a song from that movie with that crazy fire chick that had to fight to survive in some sort of TV show. Don’t know the details anymore only that it was a very catchy tune.

 **Matcha467:** During the Crusades Richard Lionheart was imprisoned and held for ransom. That’s where the Robin Hood legend comes from. The English did not know where in Austria he was held. Legend told us that the English used a spy who went to all the important castles whistling a tune that only another Englishman would know. And he found the kings location when he heard the whistling tune.

 **Chitchat999** : Honestly, Dampflauderer1 and Warg5. Do you guys read at all? Everyone should know that. And as for the “poem”. It’s from a book in which the reluctant heroine fights against an oppressive regime. Familiar much?

 **Dudla69:** But then why didn’t she use an old rebel song? Wouldn’t that make more sense?

 **Loonybin666:** No. Which rebel songs? Irish, Gaelic, Bask, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Polish, Kurdish etc… Only people from these regions would know or connoisseurs of Rebel Music or similar genres would know the songs. Yet she was addressing our entire planet. So, when she took the song from a blockbuster that has been seen around the world she could be sure that significantly more individuals could recognize the song and that we can teach it to those who haven’t seen the films.

….

* * *

 

“Here I am. Why did you call me in, Howard?” a mousy haired young man asked sneaking through the glass door. “I can’t be seen in the Muggle world.”

“Hey, Dennis. Glad you could make it.” Howard, a tall dark-haired man with a small moustache answered him. “Did you see the empire’s transmission?”

“See? No. There are no TVs in the Wizarding world, but the Wizenradio interrupted the programme to transmit her message. I heard Harry freaking Potter siding with the empire! Why would she do that? We fought on the same side against Voldemort and his cronies.” He ranted clearly feeling betrayed. “There wasn’t that much buzz since the day she challenged her brother for the Elder Wand a few weeks after You-know-who’s final demise.”

“She didn’t betray us.” Raymond interrupted him. “I know my best friend. She hated it.”

“If she hated it, then she wouldn’t have done it.” Dennis protested. “She is betraying everything she stood for.”

“No, she isn’t.” Raymond objected vehemently. “She’s protecting her family! We picked up on her Morse code message and checking the dark net chats, it seems that we weren’t the only ones. Unfortunately, only two minor chats have picked it up so far and are slowly distributing the message. We can only hope that the empire doesn’t detect it.”

“There is a Morse Code message?” Dennis asked flabbergasted. “What…What does it say?”

“Look for yourself.” Howard told him handing him two sheets of paper that the mousy haired snatched from his hands reading it hungrily.” When he looked up again he had a smile on his face.

“So, what do you want me for?” Dennis enquired.

“A major transmission like that is bound to make it’s way to the Wizarding world. We didn’t know that the radio transmitted it. So, nobody there could have picked up her coded message” Howard stated. “Especially, when the presenter is Alexander Potter’s sister. But they need to know the truth about the empire and right now they are one of our assets, that the empire has no idea about. Harry said the Rebellion is growing. We need to train and prepare ourselves and so do they.”

“So, we want you to give the Quibbler and your minister each a copy of her transcribed hidden message. A day later you should give it to the Daily Prophet. This way the message reaches all of the Wizarding world.”

“But what about the other countries of the wizarding world?” Dennis enquired. “Shouldn’t they know too?”

“Don’t worry. Most of them are already informed.” Raymond told him. “Some may have chosen to hide themselves from the empire, but most of the other wizarding parts of the world are advanced enough to not be able to live without proper technology any longer. We are in contact with MACUSA, who is informing the other wizarding societies.”

Dennis nodded. “Alright. I’ll do it. Care to let me in how you two even know about MACUSA?

Howard and Raymond snorted simultaneously remembering how Harry had broken the statute of secrecy telling them: “No.”

“What about Anthony? Have you heard anything from him?”

Howards shook his head. “No, I haven’t heard anything about my little brother since the empire took him. But they bloody searched all our known houses for him. Guess we can guess what that means.”

“Have you about yours?”

Dennis nodded to the very astonishment of the other two. “Yeah. I mean not officially. A few month ago, Augusta Longbottom paid us a visit on behalf of her grandson. She can communicate with him through the means of a magical two-way mirror. Colin is stationed at the Chimera together with Longbottom, Finnegan and Harry. They are in the army, while she is in the navy. But Grand Admiral Thrawn ordered her to stay away from them.”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell us that!” Howard thundered widening his eyes. “Don’t you realize that we could use that to get in contact with Harry! She could find out what happened to Anthony. I mean he was taken after her. She might not even know that he is in danger. I need to know that has happened to my brother.”

Raymond nodded in agreement but gestured Howard to calm down.

“So, does every other family on the planet. For the record. I’m not supposed to be in the Muggle World. I could be put into Azkaban for just being here.” Dennis deflected. “And secondly, from what I could hear Thrawn keeps her on a tight leash. She received her own quarters among high ranking officers, close to his and has to run errands for him. The Dursleys are under constant observation from the empire.”

Raymond nodded in understanding. “Yeah. We figured that out when they came to vivisect her office and our recreation room. It’s a miracle that they haven’t found her manor yet. Could you please make sure that Augusta passes on the message that Harry should try to find out where Anthony is.”

“Yeah. Ok.” Dennis conceded snatching the folders with her message within. “I’ll try.”

 

* * *

 

She stepped through the dura-steel door to her boss’s office, which she had helped prepare earlier and came to an abrupt halt. The tall Chiss was not alone in his additional on-planet office. Rather there was a slender female with short black hair in grey uniform and a rank plate that marked her as the ambitious planetary governor. So, this was Arynda Price, governor of Lothal. The person who had specifically requested Thrawn and his 7th fleet from Grand Moff Tarkin. There was an air of haughty arrogance surrounding her and Harry immediately disliked her.

Harry knew Thrawn suspected her of blowing up the shield generator of Batonn, yet he had nothing to prove it. Shortly prior to their arrival at Lothal he had tasked her to keep subtly digging for information about her part of the incident that could link her to the catastrophe. Although he doubted that she could detect anything, he had ordered her to bring it to him if she would be able to find something, as he would decide when to use this information best. Thrawn had been pleasantly surprised when he had discovered that she had had the foresight of requesting the entire historical and artistic data from Lothal for him and detailed information and reports on the rebels of this sector. Well, his facial expression had remained impassive, but there had been a slight spark in those scary red eyes.

After whatever dark entity had woken her from her slumber, she had not been able to go back to sleep which had resulted in intense brooding. What she had wanted in her heart was defying Thrawn and more importantly the empire entirely, but he and extension the empire was holding her family hostage. One step out of line and they could suffer the consequences. Her mind had remembered that several mid-level officers had been sent packing recently. They had been so used to their privileges due to their origins and connections to the Coruscanti elite and who had therefore slacked at their work. Thrawn was slowly rooting out the incompetent or lazy ones. She could not be being a lazy one. What would he do to her? Let her family be killed and hand her over to the Inquisitors? Reluctantly, she had left her comparatively cosy cot to start working on preparing herself before confronting the devious Chiss again.  She had then compiled a list of what Thrawn could ask of her at Lothal and had gotten to work at finding out about their mission and about the insurgent group.

“Governor Price.” Harry greeted her bowing slightly. Not sure what else to do.

“May I introduce my new aide. Lieutenant Potter.” Thrawn calmly introduced her.

“A new aide?” Price answered clipped mustering Harry curiously clearly wondering what had happened to Vanto. “So, you were tasked with collecting graffiti of the rebel cell?”

“Apparently so, Governor.” Harry answered wondering why Thrawn trusted her enough so soon to let her go down to the planet, but then again, he had her family under observation and she had sworn loyalty to him and it irked her more than she had to admit. There was no escape for her.

“But it’s not just graffiti. There is always more to it. It is their artistic expression of their free will. Something the empire is not particularly fond of.”

Pryce raised her eyebrows in surprise at her statement. “It can mark territory, mark opposition, be a sign for their need of free expression, a call to arms, a symbol for hope or even the passing of secret coded messages that only a selected few can deceiver.” Harry couldn’t keep her sly smile off her face. Someone would decode her message. Either her friends or someone from her school programs. It was only a matter of time.

“Subversives usually have a higher tendency of individuality, which gives them quite some advantage over the empire, but their individuality can also be used against them.”

Harry felt slightly nauseous talking like that, but technically she spoke the truth and partly from more than enough experience.

Thrawn was observing the conversation behind the governor with his hands clasped behind his back. If he was surprised that she displayed non-confrontational behaviour again, he didn’t show it. She was wearing her “professional mask” on her face. At least she hoped that it seemed professional.

Governor Pryce raised one of her eyebrows in question and partially turned back towards Thrawn and back to Harry. “The rebels are a chaotic bunch of individuals. How should that ‘individuality’ give them an advantage over the empire?”

Harry locked eyes with Thrawn who seemed to wait if she would go on.

“Well, it seems that they are organized enough, Governor. “She continued. “They were able to best the ISB officer investigating them, Lord Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin. How many rebel groups can say that and live to tell the tale.” Harry mentally winced. Her voice had probably just sounded a bit too appreciative of that rebel cell. But that’s what she had found out about them in her initial survey about them. She would love to get her hands on the more detailed reports.

“Their individuality allows them to think outside of the box. They are not hindered by hundreds of usel…”  Thrawn’s expression facial expression took on a warning glance behind Pryce as his glowing red eyes narrowed and Harry gulped and adapted her explanation. “ahm…  protocols. Therefore, they are able to easily adapt to any given situation and manage to escape through improvisation.”

“And you want to catch them with art?” Governor Pryce enquired. She had known that Thrawn was quite exceptional in anticipating the enemy’s movements, but art seemed to be a bit farfetched.

“Yes.” Thrawn continued coolly. “When you understand a species' art, you understand that species. Studying a species art can tell one where they started their culture, how they developed their thinking and how they will react to any given situation.” Thrawn locked eyes with her and Harry mentally shivered and gulped inaudibly. This was yet another warning for her to behave on the planet.  He still was studying her notebooks and the holographic pictures he had of her and in, so he was studying her. And he had told her that she had to ‘earn them back from him’. But he hadn’t told her how. It was unnerving. Even her therapists had never been able to get her completely, but she was quite afraid, that he would dig up her entire personality, if that was even possible, while he remained an opaque mystery to her. It wasn’t fair. Even she knew that she didn’t know herself that well.

“The rebels are not all from the same species.” Pryce reminded him with an angry edge in voice.

“I am aware.” Thrawn answered. “Yet they are all products of their cultures and can therefore be studied.”

“Interesting.” Pryce stated turning towards Harry again. “Agent Kallus is quite familiar with the Rebels and will accompany you to the major sightings of their …‘art’.” _Ah._ That’s why Thrawn let her go outside of the hideous imperial complex. She would be accompanied by an ISB agent. _Another one. Marvellous._

“Thank you, Governor Pryce.” Harry answered indicating a slight bow while mentally vowing to find some evidence against her. She seemed just like a very sly Slytherin who loved using other’s as a political pawn to advance her status. This woman was not an ally to her commander. If it suited her, she would throw him under the bus and the Chiss was the only protection Harry had at the moment. She mentally shook her head. It seemed that this governor had no idea what she had bargained for with Trawn.


	19. Lothal

Harry was excited to finally be off that repressive Star Destroyer and out of the even duller imperial complex to stand on solid ground on Lothal, which was so very different than her own planet. To be standing on another entirely foreign planet outside of her solar system should be exciting enough. Her old self would barely have been able to contain her excitement, but she was here on behalf of the empire. As part of the occupants. The oppressors. Inside she was bursting with excitement, but it was dulled by the fact that she was here as an imperial.

Almost all the buildings were looking identical, cubical and the locals where shooting her little group consisting of two troupers and Agent Kallus dirty or terrified glances before quickly dashing out of view. Although the streets were somewhat busy, she could only gather some hushed whispers, which stopped entirely whenever they walked passed them. People were afraid to be overheard. The empire’s oppression was almost thick palatable in the air. Well, the air did smell differently, and the various scents were not that easily placed.

Or rather she could feel it through the people’s thick emotions. Kallus also had an interesting set of feelings, that where entirely different than she had expected. He wasn’t as aloof as he seemed to be at first glance. He also seemed aware of the difficulties faced by the populous. Yet his demeanour suggested that he didn’t give a lick about them. That was certainly different than the other ISB officer’s she had met. They had spent the entire day flying around on the northern hemisphere where the ghost crew had left its markings. But she had refused to use a speeder in Capital City as she preferred solid ground under her feet and she had longed to walk for herself for a while. And walking by foot allowed her to take more information in. To Kallus she had sold it referencing the line of the Naval code which referred to use Imperial resources responsibly. After all she still was curious about the planet itself. The large planes of green and brownish grass certainly looked rather beautiful, but the smog in the atmosphere was heavy and turned the sky into a grey and brownish colour. As hard as she looked, she could not detect any blue in the sky, like there should be. She missed that. Occasionally her ears had focused at hearing some sort of unrefined melody she couldn’t place, but when she had enquired about it, Kallus had told her that he couldn’t hear anything. Perhaps his helmet was too constricting, or she did have better hearing.

When she had entered the civilian compounds of Capital City, she had reluctantly let go of her mental walls which had almost caused her to slam them back in place to protect herself, but she forced herself to lower them. It hadn’t worked. Too much information had been rushing towards her mind and she had slammed them back in place, but not reinforced them. It allowed her to still feel the things around her, but slightly muted. Her mind would remember it anyway. And she had sworn loyalty to Thrawn, not the empire. Her thoughts always seemed to circle back on that stupid oath. Whatever that would mean for her future would be complicated. She had been very careful not to phrase it like a magical vow, but it was weighing heavily on her.

She scanned the retaining wall again for a more detailed holo-picture. The other graffities weren’t that detailed. Here the Mandalorian artist from the phoenix squadron had apparently worked several layers, probably over weeks or month whenever she had been close to the area. But the compilation of graffiti layers was beautiful. Harry adored it. A phoenix raising from the flames, a little cute Loth-cat and a storm trooper helmet which might be covered in speckles of blood. It seemed hastily drawn yet detailed enough to read the love the artist had for this planet and for her cause. And she seemed to hate Storm troopers. Something she could relate to. She had also hated them when they had invaded her planet. Well, she could not hate them that strongly anymore as she knew that they were mostly just physically fit simpletons following orders or conscripts from newly discovered, more primitive planets like Longbottom and his friends. And he was no simpleton. Did the Rebels know that they were sometimes fighting brainwashed conscripts that were caught in the middle because they had no other choice? Probably not. If they were to find someone who could get through to them, the empire would have to worry about far more defectors.

Her eyes fell on the stylized phoenix again. She could swear that the red paint even smelled strangely after something normally not found in paint, but this artist wasn’t usual. She carefully brushed over the paint and smelled the residue on her glove. Yes, there was something explosive in the mix. _Crafty_.

Earth didn’t have any contact with the galaxy outside prior to the empire’s arrival and a little skirmish with forces still unknown before that, yet for some reason there were humans all over the galaxy and they also seemed to share some mythological creatures. How was that possible? Humans had developed on Earth through evolution. It had already been proven. But did the humans in the galaxy develop exactly like on earth? But then why wasn’t there more variety among them? Were the stories of people abducted by aliens true, perhaps? Were there other real phoenixes somewhere else in the galaxy? Fawkes had liked her quite a lot, but shown his disdain towards her brother, which had surprised Dumbledore immensely she had never shown any loyalty to the old geezer. The bird had even come to her rescue in the chamber when she had saved her annoying brother, his best friend Ronald and her brother’s little groupie Ginny, who was now his fierce wife. It had been the only time when she had seen him speechless. Yet, even then he had not apologized to her.

“You said that one of the Rebels from the Phoenix Squadron was a local citizen. Do you know where he lived?” she curiously asked the tall strawberry-blond ISB Agent standing behind her remembering how hard she had fought not to burst into laughter when she had realized that he had mutton chops. But then his helmet didn’t look cosy and naked skin on the bare metal of his helmet could become problematic. Especially, when he broke out into sweat the metal could stick on unshaved skin or during extreme cold, when it could cause frost burns. So, the mutton chops did make some sense for his protection.

“Yes. Bridger’s house is in the city.” He answered her with his deep voice and rather bored intonation. “Yet the building itself is in a bad state of disrepair.”

“I would like to take a look into it if possible.” She stated with a growing uneasy feeling of being watched, yet she could not locate the source. A visit to Bridger’s house had not been on the schedule, but somehow, she wanted to see it.

“Of course.” Agent mutton chops responded, yet Harry could detect some irritation. He didn’t particularly like babysitting her. “This way.”

She followed him through the narrow streets taking in the foreign buildings with two extremely bored troopers in tow. Harry also had to calm herself at seeing other alien species. It was excited. She had to resist the urge to gawk at them or stop to ask them about themselves. She knew that she could read about them in the databases, but these databases were extremely biased and preferred to talk to them personally.

Once or twice they met a patrolling unit, but they mostly passed other citizens of the city, who quickly ducked out of their way. Suddenly an elderly lady with cranial horns on her head and a large basket containing local round lilac fruits on her back tripped and stumbled over her feet a few meters before them and tried to scramble back to her feet with a terrified look on her feet as they came closer to her. Harry could feel her pain and her terror.

She quickly strode towards the woman and held her hand towards her in invitation and sent her a calming smile. The elderly lady frowned in confusion and hesitantly took the hand as if she was expecting her to retract it but eventually she took it. It was frail, and Harry worried that she might accidently break her bones. Harry gently grabbed the woman’s upper arm to support her and pulled her upward until she was standing. She bent down to collect the escaped fruits resisting the strong urge to summon them and ordered the two troopers to do the same, who just looked at each other in confusion, then at Kallus as if waiting for his confirmation. Harry rolled her eyes at them. It seemed that even troopers were chauvinistic. She really wanted to smack them for it.

“Do as she says.” Agent mutton chop agreed. Harry placed the fruits back into the basked even though the elderly lady squirmed out of the way. She could sneak a peek at the bottom but could only spot that the woman was smuggling something else which had a specific etiquette marking it as imperial medical supplies. With the empire controlling everything there had to be a black market for vital things like medicine for elderly patients and the empire wasn’t forth coming in health care.  The woman was ill and had probably acquired this medicine on the black market. She quickly gathered a few more fruits and put it over the medicine before the two troopers could see that something else was inside. Together they had the basket full again even though the woman squirmed uneasily. Harry’s feeling that she was being watched intensified, but she could not place the source. And there was that strange melody again. After having collected all the escaped fruit the elderly lady stood motionless keeping her eyes diminutively on the ground as if she was waiting to be released. Harry could still sense her fear and her immense confusion.

She gently put her hand on the lady’s shoulder. “Get well soon.” She told the woman careful not to imitate the Coruscanti accent, squeezed it gently and gave her an emphatic smile. The Zabrak’s jaw dropped, and Harry turned back towards Kallus, who deeply frowned at her with his hands crossed before his chest, but Harry could detect surprise.

“You wanted to show me the building.” Harry reminded him as the elderly woman quickly moved away.

“Of course.” Kallus answered her not letting the retreating woman out of his sight.  

“Well, I believe we were walking in that direction.” Harry pointed in the opposite direction. “Unless you want to chase after an elderly woman instead to make your day more exciting.”

Kallus head snapped back to her with an angry frown on his front. It seemed that he took issue with her implied statement. Harry just shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to go in the direction they had gone before.

A few minutes later they came to an abrupt halt in front of a burnt-out building with quite a number of visible cracks. The foundations were still intact but showed clear indication that it had burnt from the inside. A few old rusty crates were lying outside. Graffiti, both from the empire telling everyone that the building was of limits and from people which had left scribbles outside that they had not forgotten the rebels and a familiar phoenix.

The air around the house felt tight as she activated the recording droid again to record the graffiti. She stepped closer to the door and took everything in. She could see the remnants of a burnt kitchen, table and some knocked over chairs that had burnt. Was there a hole in the floor? She wanted to take a closer look, but Kallus stopped her.

“Going inside is not advisable.” He told her blocking the entry with his left arm from her right side. “The building is instable.”

“The foundations seem strong enough.” She countered stubbornly shoving his hand away and carefully stepping in with the hovering camera droid following her.

 “Record the building and then the cellar.” She told the droid who peeped times and opened his lenses. Yes, her initial assumption was correct. It seemed that the explosion had started in the hole in the ground and had worked itself outside to the rest of the building.

Harry took a deep breath turning from one side to the other, but it didn’t help. It felt as if something was pushing against her mind, washing over her, her knees almost buckled, but she managed to keep standing. She could detect faint, yet almost deafening screams of protest, fear and anger combined with the sound of heavy boots that she immediately mentally connected with Storm Troopers. She shortly closed her eyes to get her control back, but it didn’t help. It felt stifling. Oppressive. Her heart constricted. Those weren’t her feelings. When she opened them again she could see the burnt room before her eyes, yet also a still intact one faintly overlaying it and a small black-haired boy struggling to climb out of the large hole in the ground. He felt confused, lost, alone. Why could she see this? First Scorpius in real time and now apparently something of the past? Why could she see this? She had never heard, read or experienced anything like that before. _Yes, you did._ Her traitorous mind told her. _Stop lying to yourself._

“Are you alright.” She heard a deep faint voice from her side distorted as if she was submersed under water.

“Lieutenant Potter are you alright.” She heard Kallus’ voice again. More impatiently this time. She shook her head and imagined clearing her head. She blinked once and turned to the side where Kallus was now standing under the entrance arch.

“Yes. Of course.” She assured him stepping back out of the house while waiting for the droid to finish recording the house, but he clearly didn’t believe her. His eyes remained sceptical

“Out of curiosity. What happens to minor children when their parents are arrested?” she enquired following him away from that house back towards the imperial complex.

“I’m afraid I do not follow.” He told her feeling slightly uncomfortable at her question. Harry could detect a pang of regret.   _Got you!_

“I meant that if family members are arrested, put in jail or …worse, what happens to their children? Are they stuck with their parents, does the empire put them with other family members, a foster family or are there orphanages?” She enquired more forcefully, but somehow, she seemed to know the answer already.

“The children are welcome to serve the empire as imperial cadets.” He evaded her.

“Yes, but what about the children that are not yet old enough for that? Are they left to fend for themselves?”

“You are talking about Ezra Bridger.” He stated not answering her question.

“Well, obviously. The information we received indicated that his parents were arrested when he was about eight years old, yet there is no information about his whereabouts until his association with the ghost crew. That are seven years where he was left to fend for himself forcing him into committing petty crimes to survive. Had the empire handled this issue differently then it might have a loyal citizen right now.”

“Interesting theory.” Kallus answered her.

“Not a theory. A fact. And the empire calls my backwater planet primitive.” Harry grumbled angrily. “At least we had social services to take care of children in most countries.” Kallus shot her a sceptical side glance.

“The empire simply doesn’t have the resources of helping every citizen.” Kallus countered her, but his voice indicated that he seemed to repeat something without entirely believing it himself. Harry rose her left eyebrow challengingly and growled.

“Yet it has more than enough founding for the imperial war-machine building one heavily flawed Star Destroyer after the other.”

Kallus stopped in surprise. The troopers dutifully a few steps behind them. “That sounds almost treasonous.” He warned frowning at her.

Harry rolled her eyes. “You seem to mistake well justified criticism for treason, Agent Kallus.” Harry continued to walk, and Kallus soon fell in step with her again. “The people in command are just people. People dancing to the whims of politicians who lack real power. Even they are bound to make errors. But if nobody dares to point out their rather sever errors they will amplify until they become a cascade of mistakes. That cascade of mistakes will eventually feed rebellion.”

“Might I suggest that, you leave the criticism to people above your paygrade. Outspoken low-level officers normally do not fare that well in the empire.” He warned her. “I’ve seen that often enough.”

“Oh. I’m sure you have.” Harry remarked drily. “Well, I can’t help what I think of.” She defended herself as they made their way back. “And I certainly can’t detach and leave my brain behind on the Chimera. I mean, where should I put it? Not to mention the bloody mess that extraction would create. Definitely not for the faint-hearted.” She shook her head in mock outrage and could see that agent mutton chop’s lips were fighting a grin.

Suddenly she heard one of the troopers behind her yell and jump and turned around as her heart jumped as well and her right hand twitched to her brand-new blaster that had come with the uniform. Where they under attack?

Oh. Yes, they were definitely under attack. She took in the scene with growing amusement, but she also became slightly concerned. Hectically jumping troopers and rifles were a dangerous combination.

Two young cheeky Loth cats had apparently decided on a whim to use one of the troopers as a scratching post. One was halfway up his back with her long sharp claws digging in between the gaps of his armour parts, while the other was already on his shoulders sharpening her claws on his armour.

The poor trouper tried to shake them off unsuccessfully whirling around with his rifle. The second trooper seemed to be unable to do anything as he partially shooed the cats and tried to grab them but was unsuccessful as they were evading his hands.

“Troopers outmatched by two cats. Why am I not surprised?” Harry chuckled to herself. “Oh, no. Don’t you dare!”

Harry could hear a third meowing and detected a third bigger white Loth Cat sitting far above them on the roof watching them eagerly as if about to join the fun. They looked different than the cats on her planet, yet still distinctively like cats. Apparently, they also displayed a similar character.

The second trooper now spotted her as well and pointed the barrel of his rifle towards the third cat.

Kallus however tensed and seemed to be on guard as he scanned the area with a strict expression as if awaiting an ambush. It was a kitten ambush, but certainly nothing that warranted his concern. Or did the rebels tend to send animals to attack?

 _“Watch out empire, we are defeating you with … vicious purring cats.”_ Harry fought hard to keep her laughter hidden. Ok. She was crazy, but there was only so much she could expect serving on the restrictive Star Destroyer.

“Hold it.” Harry ordered the troopers shaking her head, but she couldn’t keep the amusement out of her voice.

 “Don’t point the barrel at me trooper!” she hissed when the cat infested trooper accidently pointed it at her. “Stay calm and point it towards the floor. Seriously, don’t they teach you about safety?” He luckily did what she ordered him. _Were they able to think at all?_ She wondered or were Longbottom and his friends’ exceptions to the rule? Ok. No, she wasn’t particularly fair. The PTSD Troopers she had worked with had showed some more intelligence than the others she had seen.

She carefully stepped towards the two cats on the trooper, who was now bent forward. She slipped out of her restrictive leathery gloves and pinned them on her belt. Carefully and very gently outstretched her hand towards the cat perched on his shoulder blades.

“Hallo. Little one.” She calmly talked to the cat in a higher pitched purring voice. Both set of ears perked up at her voice and one paw was lifted as if she was about to playfully attack her.

“I’m not going to hurt you, little one.” She told the two cats soothingly wiggling her outstretched fingers playfully.

 “The itty, pitty little trooper needs to do his job.” _Cats forcing troopers into submission._ She was enjoying this moment way too much. Considering the curious onlookers, she wasn’t the only one.  Her hand connected with the head between the ears of the first cat and she gently stroked it which caused the little cat to let go of its initial intent to attack her with his paw and purred contently as it edged closer towards her hand. _Different planet similar habits_. She chuckled. The little fur was soft and felt marvellous in between her fingers. It was too long that she lived without a pet, but as long as she lived on the destroyer a pet was out of the question. Although, a vicious Loth cat would lead certainly to amusing situations. _Putting a cloaking charm on it and the fun could begin. Letting it loose on the bridge or the cantina. Nah. Don’t get any ideas Harry._ The second cat now also became curious and tried to push the other one out of the way to get her fair share. Harry also petted the second one and a split second later the first one had vacated her place on the trouper and was now balancing herself on her shoulder while rubbing her face into Harry’s.

“Ups.” Harry exhaled while relishing in the kitten’s attention. It was heavier than it looked. “Hallo.”

The second one followed swiftly and landed partially, with her front paws on her shoulders, digging her long claws into Harry’s uniform. She winced slightly and supported her up with her left hand. Taking a few steps away from the trooper who straightened up with an audible groan.

Still petting the two kittens, now rather awkwardly she peaked towards the white Loth cat still watching them like a hawk. Did the two little ones belong to her? She had no idea, but then her eyes connected with the blue ones of the white Loth-cat and Harry could have sworn that the cat was more than it seemed to be. An Animagus? Those blue eyes seemed to host knowledge that shouldn’t be there. Her protective necklace hiding her imprint from that dark entity tingled slightly. Yes, something was going on. But the Loth-cat didn’t seem dark at all. It seemed to smile at her. Could they smile?

Harry shook her head and broke eye contact with it. The white Loth cat meowed which the two little ones answered tensing and hopping towards a wooden pillar which looked to be part of remnants of a former stall and hastily climbing upwards towards the white loth cat.

Her neck hair straightened. In the corner of her eye Harry could see that the troopers where aiming at the cats.

“Hold your fire.” She angrily ordered whirling around. “They were just curious, but if you are shooting at them they might become vicious in the future.” She paused. “And you do not want to feel the wrath of cats.”

Harry realized that the two cats had left her uniform full of tufts of hair. She brushed them off walking with a grin past an unreadable agent Kallus, who projected confusion. Apparently, he had no idea what to make of her. _Good_. She counted that as a win against the imperials.  Some stubborn hairs refused to be brushed off, but Harry decided that she would clean her uniform back on the destroyer.

A few hours later…

Harry was sitting in her quarters working herself through all the reports about their special rebel group on her workstation.

Kallus had provided every report ever filed on them. Every.single.one.of.them. She had naturally forwarded them to Thrawn with a note that she was working on them. Did Kallus want to drown her in information? It certainly seemed that way. Luckily, every report provided detailed geographic coordinates of their encounters. Right now, she was disregarding the details of the reports and focusing on building a net showing their movements on their planet. They certainly had been busy, but they seemed to have favoured the northern hemisphere. On the other hand, there weren’t many settlements on Lothal’s southern hemisphere as the ground wasn’t as fertile and was mostly covered with kholm-grass. But ecological surveys indicated untapped veins. So, surveillance wasn’t all that tight yet. That could indicate that they had also been there, but the empire had no record of it.

Her com blipped, and Harry sighed. She was nowhere finished with her current task. She took it off her belt and activated it. “Lieutenant Potter, here.”

“Lieutenant Potter.” Thrawn’s calm voice answered. “Please report to my office.”

“On my way, Sir.” She responded automatically and ended the com gathering the datafiles. She stopped shortly in front of her small mirror. The reflection gazing back at her looked bored and tired. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to school her features. She knew how to put her “professional” face on. It had helped her manipulate people to do her bidding just like she had learned from her mentor/sponsor and it usually worked in underestimating her. The “pleasant” professional face had worked on Agent Kallus and several other officers, so she would keep it up for the time being. But she would continue to criticise, and her boss didn’t seem to mind if she didn’t overstep some boundaries and didn’t wear her disdain for the empire openly on her sleeve.

More intense powerplay with Thrawn were waiting for her. _Oh joy._

_______

After passing the guard to Thrawn’s office she entered his office and saw him sitting at his desk reading something on his data-pad.

She stood attention with her shoulders squared and her hands clasped behind her back balancing her data pad in between her hands while waiting to be acknowledged. He didn’t. Instead he continued reading. She gritted her teeth to keep her from saying anything. He had seen that she had entered his office. She was sure of it. So, either whatever he was reading was quite gripping or he was ignoring her for some reason or it was another test of how patient she could be. Minutes ticked by and her annoyance grew with every single one of them. Every minute she was forced to stay attention here was one that she could have used more productively. What was the point of that?

“Your uniform seems to have acquired some turfs of fur.” He glacially stated interrupting the silence while never looking up from his data-pad.

Harry mentally cursed with wide eyes. She felt the blood drain from her face. _Shit_. She had forgotten about the state of her uniform and gotten straight to work upon arrival back on the Chimera. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated and mentally murmured _Scourgify_ directing the magical stream over her uniform to clean it. Thrawn knew that she could to magic. So, there was no point in hiding it. She quickly checked if she had missed a spot and a second later she sheepishly turned her gaze towards Thrawn again, who was now calmly observing her.

“Fascinating.” He remarked. “I did wonder how my planetary office on the surface could be so impeccably clean so quickly.”

“The maintenance droids are in dire need of a recalibration. There was too much dust laying around even after their cleaning session. So, I stepped in, but I will not run around in circles doing the droid’s jobs in the future, Sir.” She told him.

The Chiss inclined his head. “Were there complications on the surface?” he enquired gesturing towards Harry’s uniform.

Harry unsuccessfully fought a sheepish grin. “Well… You could say that we were ambushed. By two curious feline creatures of the local fauna: Loth-cats. One of the troopers was unable to shake the two persistent kittens off. So, I had to lure them away. Troopers outsmarted by small kittens. That’s how some turfs of their fur landed on my uniform.” She explained apologetically hoping to appease him. “I intended to clean it at arrival back at the Chimera but got caught up in the reports. I apologize for that. It won’t happen again.”  

“See to it that it doesn’t.” he only remarked coolly. “In the meantime. I was informed that you’ve protested against the transfer of your two patients in the Med Bay this morning.”

 _Oh._ So, he didn’t summon her to question her on her work on the reports.

“I did, Sir.” She responded defiantly remembering that she had almost been banned from entering the Med Bay again. “Both troopers are still suffering from PTSD and are therefore still unable to do their jobs properly. With their transfer I’m afraid that they are either used as troopers, again becoming a threat to their own comrades. Or the other possibility is that the military will let them go without getting them help. In that case they will become a severe danger to civilians and to themselves.”

“The High Command assured me that they would look into this issue and get them help.” Thrawn told her calmly interrupting her.

“But the structures to help troopers are simply not there at present.” She shot back. “There are only trained specialists to access the mental state of individuals, not how help them lead a normal life again. Not to mention the lack of facilities. I’ve checked. During the clone wars the Jedi were the ones training mental physicians able to help. After the empire took over there was apparently no will to get them help. So, valuable knowledge was lost. I can’t help everyone suffering from PTSD in the empire, but I could help those two.”

Thrawn seemed thoughtful listening to her. “Yes, you mentioned this problem in your report to the High Command. But you also suggested that being confined for too long a period might also be counterproductive for their healing process.”

“That I did, but the Med Bay was still the best option as the grey within grey of the Star Destroyer and the closeness to weapons and alarms could trigger further flashbacks and render everything they worked on useless.”

“You are very protective over them and also over the treatment of Crewman Baila Panaká.” Thrawn remarked locking his captivating glowing red eyes with hers.

Harry huffed straightening “I’m NOT protective.” _Why does everyone keep saying that?_   ” They are my responsibility. You ordered me to continue working with them a few weeks ago and just because I’ve a new set of orders that came with my new rank, I had no intention of stopping that.”

There was that ominous barely visible lopsided grin again. “An admirable notion.” He affirmed. “However, the Apprentice Legislators were tasked to collect ideas and propositions for the establishment of mental health care available for trooper veterans to be presented to the senate. Your two patients will stay at Coruscant as cases studies for the time being getting all the help they can get from mental physicians that were trained during the Clone Wars.”

Harry frowned unhappily. They were out of her control and she would not be able to help them in case something happened. She knew their current mental state. Those now working with them didn’t.

“But they don’t know them.” She protested. “I do, and the Apprentice Legislators have no real power to achieve anything. Their purpose is just keeping the public happily ignorant.”

“Perhaps, you can keep working with Baila Panaká, but your main focus should lie on the new mission.” Thrawn told her gesturing her to sit in front of his desk. His intonation indicated that he considered the discussion to be over.


	20. Thrawn knows

_„No! “Petunia shook her head crossing her hands. “Harry will most certainly NOT stay in a dorm of her school.”_

_“I understand your hesitation.” Harry’s benefactor nodded empathically taking a step closer to Petunia. “But there is so much more that she needs to learn, and the long daily commute takes valuable time away from her studies. Additionally, to that she currently only focuses on training her mind. To built up resistance against future stress, she also has to be physically fit.”_

_“I cannot allow her to stay at the dorm.” Petunia stubbornly refuted. “She is not yet old enough.”_

_“She would be well cared for. I can assure you that.” The baroness tried again, but Uncle Vernon cut in explaining their stance._

_“We certainly do not doubt that you think that she would be well cared for, but you don’t know every single person working in that institute. For our sanity we need to see her every day. And if I have to drive out there late in the evening to pick her up, then so be it.”_

_“I also don’t see why you want to put even more classes on her schedule.” Petunia nodded agreeing with her husband. She paused sighing heavily for a moment to glance at her niece. “For heavens sake. She’s still a child. She also needs time for herself.”_

_“I’ve spoken to her teachers and they assured me that she’s capable of handling a few more classes.” The tall lady explained. “If it would put you at ease, I suggest a trial period to see if she can adjust to an even stricter schedule. If not, then we’ll drop it.” Harry couldn’t put a finger on it, but somehow, she doubted that this would only be a trial period._

_“But she’ll stay with us.” Vernon grunted gruffly._

_“As you wish.” She relented but Harry suspected that this woman simply wouldn’t let go of that matter as she struck her as someone who always got what she wanted. There was some dangerous glint in her eyes that didn’t sit that well with Harry. But she was glad that she had tricked her parents into signing some papers that allowed the Dursley’s to make important decisions like this one. Had she not done that, the last conversation could have been derailed very easily._

_That conversation had taken place over a month ago, yet Harry couldn’t get it out of her head. She was currently lying on the comfy sofa in the living room with her head in her aunt’s lap and her feet on her cousin’s upper legs. Uncle Vernon was sitting in the armchair next to them commenting the absurdness of the film they were watching. She was exhausted, her muscles felt heavy and she had trouble moving them without them protesting. Petunia was absentmindedly brushing over Harry’s bird nest of a hair while watching some science-fiction movie about some men and apes. Harry relished in the ministrations of her aunt and enjoyed to just relax without needing to do anything. Her new schedule had almost become unbearably stuffed and she wasn’t able to spend as much time with her two cheeky friends as she was used to. No time for shenanigans. Additionally, to that her benefactor had decided that she needed to have more sports lessons where she repeated countless physical routines over and over again and ballet lessons. It was mindlessly boring, but the Baroness had only chided her for her lack of enthusiasm and told her that in time she should recognizing the benefit. What that woman’s goal was, she didn’t know, but decided that she would not test her patience as the continuation of her education rested in her hands alone. Another thing that didn’t sit well with Harry._

_Snape hadn’t particularly happy about her re-scheduling their lessons, but after a lengthy explanation he had reluctantly changed them to Sundays. She just hoped that she would learn to manage all this one day. With that last thought she finally gave into her exhaustion and drifted into sleep._

* * *

 

“Now, please update me on your process.” Thrawn ordered Harry as she sat down opposite his desk.

“Well, Agent Kallus took me to the major sights of their artistic expressions, which I documented and forwarded to you. The excursion did take us longer as we were close to Bridger’s house and I assumed that you might want to have some pictures of it as well. After all it was a hideout for this rebel group for a short time and the graffiti could be used as examples on communication between the so-called Phoenix Group and the locals.”

 Thrawn nodded without commenting, his fingertips clasped together, and Harry continued: “Agent Kallus has forwarded reports about them to our attention. I’ve scanned over a few reports roughly until the time Grand Moff Tarkin decided to get involved, but I’ve not yet been able to study them in detail, but I noticed that there are several reports that were retracted by Imperial High Command and are not available to my rank. “

“I see. You informed me that you were working on the reports after arrival back on the chimera.” Thrawn stated. “How far are you with those?”

 Harry bit her lower lip in embarrassment: “Not as far as I would have liked, Sir….” Thrawn frowned with the barest hint of disapproval. Her heartbeat accelerated. It seemed that he had expected more of her. “But, due to the sheer amount of the reports I decided to create this first.” She took one of her data cards and handed it over to him.

He put it into the data reader and a hologram of Lothal appeared before them. On the hologram several spots in different colours could be seen.

The Chiss put his right hand on his chin and leaned back. “Interesting.” Was all he said evenly his face remaining impassive.

“It’s a geographical map depicting the places the empire had encounters with some members of the ghost crew.”

“The different colours are time codes, are they not” Thrawn mused and Harry nodded.     

“Indeed, they are.” Harry answered. “I figured that it would be interesting to see if they favoured certain areas during certain times and it also helped me to familiarize myself with the geography of the planet.”

“Fascinating.” Thrawn said with a touch of approval in his voice. “Their activity on this planet seems to be centred around the three major cities: Capital City, Kothal and Jalath.”

“Yes, but I have not been able to complete all the encounters on the hologram.” She answered. “There might be much more areas that are as of yet not aware of. These cities are the three biggest settlements on the northern hemisphere, far away from each other and the geography in between them could have given the Rebels more than enough cover. Especially the mountainous area, which is highly dangerous to fly over and through due to the temperature differences and the spontaneous wind hoes.   And as the empire’s presence is also primarily concentrated on the northern hemisphere, the rebels might have used this to their advantage.”

Thrawn’s lips curled in a slight smile of approval as he locked his mesmerizing red eyes with her. “My preliminary study agrees with yours.”

Now it was Harry to frown. It seemed that the work of her last few hours had been redundant. Her shoulders slumped. Perhaps she should have conferred with Thrawn better. Apparently, her disappointment was visible on her face.

“There is no need to be disappointed, Lieutenant” Thrawn said in a calming tone. “It was a good place to start. Please finish the map later.” _So, this was a test? Another one?_

“Yes, Sir. Thank you.” Harry answered being not entirely able to keep her annoyance out of her tone and she was quite certain that he would be able to hear it. But he seemed to choose to ignore it.

Well as he seemed in such an agreeable mood, Harry could not resist trying to find out how far she could go.

“Should I include the retracted reports as well?” she asked trying to sound casual. “They are also centred around another, rather specific geographical area. An area which now features heavy imperial presence. But the operation is not connected to any other imperial garrison on the planet.”

“A separate operation.” Thrawn mused. “Governor Pryce hasn’t mentioned anything about that.”

“I was wondering if I could get access to those retracted files to complete the map and to further study the rebels.” She asked innocently. “Or if I should simply slice for them. From what I’ve seen their codes are a bit more challenging at first glance, but it might be possible to…”

“You will do no such thing.” Thrawn interrupted her calmly, but there was a clear threat in his voice that dropped a few degrees. “These files are were retracted for a reason.”

“One of the reasons being the murder of Minister Maketh Tua by the empire?” Harry let go of any pretence. _Lets’ see how he reacts to that._ After all she had cracked one of those files.

His eyes narrowed glittering darkly freezing her in place, but Harry fought hard not to break his intense gaze.

“While I do not necessarily agree with Lord Vader’s methods, I must remind you that these files are classified for a reason. Therefore, I hereby order you to not slice for any data files without my explicit permission for now.”

“Understood.” Harry gulped and contemplated if she should push him further. “But then how should complete the map?”

His gaze remained hard. “You earlier revealed that you already have the coordinates of the rebel encounters of these reports. That should suffice for now.”

She nodded until another thought struck her. Thrawn had ordered her to dig for evidence from Batonn that could be used against Arynda Pryce, yet he forbade her to slice for these retracted documents. Well, this was a loophole that he seemed to have forgotten? Or had he? Perhaps he had just laid another trap for her and she was about to jump it. But on the other hand, how should she find out if this was a carefully laid trap.

“Now, I want you to give me your impression on this.” Thrawn told her casually changing the topic keying his holoprojector. “I believe you sent only a small fracture of the recorded graffiti to me.”

A part of the retaining wall painting appeared before them.

Harry fiddled with more data cards and put them on his desk. “Yes, unfortunately the data volume was too much to send. Which is why I sent only a fraction, Sir.”

“In the future, I expect you to bring such data cards straight to my office and not just present me with a pre-selection. Trying to evade me will not serve you well.” His glowing red eyes glittered darkly. An edge of danger was starting to work its way back into his normally civilized tone. _He really must love to study artwork_. Harry gulped breathing out evenly and nodded in understanding.

“Understood, Sir.” She nodded. “I wasn’t evading you.” _Liar!_ “Bringing the data cards to your office was exactly what I tried to do, but as you were neither in your office in the imperial complex nor on the Chimera, I assumed that you were in an important meeting with either Governor Pryce or Admiral Constantine and I didn’t dare to use the comm to interrupt.”

_‘Sir?’ she spoke into the comm in the Antechamber of his office._

_‘Yes.’ His cultivated voice answered._

_‘Sir, where are you?’ she asked again._

_‘I beg your pardon’ Thrawn sounded irritated._

_‘I have an immense amount of new artwork waiting to be analysed’. She answered in sing-song tone into the comm._

_… Silence from his side of the comm…_

_Then all of a sudden, she could hear:_

_Sounds of racing boots on the floor and an eager Thrawn diving hastily around the corner hungrily outstretching his large blue hands towards her mountain of data-cards._

_“Give them to me. My precious.”_

The silly thought struck Harry and she quickly had to hide her giggle behind a cough and her gloved hand. Sometimes her fantasy just ran rampant before she could stop it.

Well, she had been trying to evade everybody. Not just Thrawn. He had ordered her to keep minimum contact with Longbottom and the other Terran troupers, but he had no idea how tenacious they were. They had often just popped up somewhere near her. It had been too accidental so that she had feared that they were using their wands somehow. To prevent them from being found out she had tried to establish the possibility of minimal “accidental” contact at the recreation training deck. But unfortunately, they had not been able to contact her beyond a few hushed words.

Thrawn studied her intently. Damn she seemed to be an open book to him.

“I see.” Thrawn stated evenly. “I believe your last thought was some form of personal joke on my expense.” He said calmly without any hint of accusation raising an eyebrow challengingly. It was just a statement.

Harry bit her lips and snorted but did not answer him or she knew that she would lose the fight and burst out laughing and then how should she explain that thought to him.

The next few hours in Thrawn’s office dragged on as they were discussing the initial data, they had on the Rebel cell and her commanding officer also informed her that the requested data packs had arrived from Lothal, Mandalore and Ryloth, which had been rather extensive and would take some time to process entirely. Thrawn ordered her to study them diligently in the next few days. Of course, Thrawn already had a head start towards her. His species seemed to require less sleep. That had to be a reason how he managed to get so much done in such a short time.

If anything, good came out of her entire dilemma of being the Chiss’ aide, it would be the possibility to study other cultures of the galaxy in such depth. Not much people in the Navy or the empire would ever learn that much about the other species or their cultures. They had to spend their entire service stuck with their unhealthy prejudices against non-humans. And she planned to find out about other species as much as possible.

Getting information about Kanan Jarrus’ life in the Jedi Order was nearly impossible as the imperial palace didn’t want anything to get out about the Orders daily lives.  The data pack on Lasan and its art was also less than impressive.

“Well, unfortunately there wasn’t much to be found on Lasan or Lasanian art” Harry told Thrawn bitterly with clenched teeth.

“The empire wasn’t as diligent in collecting it as they were in murdering an entire species.”

Thrawn regarded her calmly leaning back in his chair. It almost seemed that he had expected her to try to challenge him again.

 “You need to learn to emotionally distance yourself from things that have happened. It does not help dwelling on things that have already come to pass and whose outcome you can’t change any more.” He lectured her calmly.

“That’s where you are wrong.” Harry countered angrily. She hated when he was like this. It meant that she had to be extra careful because he loved dominating a discussion.

“Aquellos que no pueden recordar el pasado están condenados a repetirlo” she cited. Thrawn’s right eyebrow shot up clearly deducing that she was using a language from her planet. Could he detect that it was not her first language? She wouldn’t put it past him.

“It means ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it`. I’ve seen it often enough in one form or the other on my planet. The empire has committed one genocide before without any repercussions. They will do this again. It is only a matter of time. T-7 ion disruptor rifles were used to wipe them out. Not just the men, or the lasat from the Honour guard, which could have posed the most danger, but women and children as well. So many lives lost. Innocent little children being murdered, their future taken away in the most brutal way possible. An entire civilization wiped out just because they were humanoid, not human and happened to have their planet far away from the fashionable centre of the galaxy. It’s even worse that they will probably completely be forgotten within the next generation. With hardly any evidence that they ever existed.”

She gestured towards the hovering statue of a proud Lasat fiercely wielding a ceremonial lance. A few of Thrawn’s artefacts started to create a vibrating sound and Harry took a deep breath to ease the tension and let go of her anger. The vibrations stopped instantly.

Thrawn seemed entirely unfazed by her rant and curiously stepped towards the clone wars helmet which had been one artefact.

 “You misunderstand.” He answered her evenly clasping his hands behind his back. “I advised you to learn to emotionally distance yourself. That does not mean that you should ignore these things. But you must be able to rationally process information. To study it.

“I am studying it.” Harry ground out. “But how do you expect me to not get emotional knowing about the atrocities that have been committed against them? It makes me furious and mournful at the same time. If I’m this angry being a foreigner studying this mesmerizing culture, can you even imagine what the Lasat of the Phoenix Squadron Garazeb Orrellios must be feeling every time he encounters imperial enemies? Considering what he has gone through, he goes surprisingly easy on the troopers.”

“You believe that he goes easy on our troopers?” Thrawn questioned her. “How so?”

Harry fought back her rising ire by taking several deep breaths while explaining it to him. “Well, he’s wearing a Bo-rifle from the honour guard. That means he must have been on Lasan when the atrocities happened. He’s a survivor. Yet, most troopers who had faced him are still alive. A few broken bones, spines or rips, fractured skulls have been results of these encounters, but they are alive. He mostly knocked them out even though he could have killed them all in retaliation because they most likely remind him of the worst day of his life.”

“You are correct, yet you missed one very important aspect.” Thrawn clarified locking eyes with hers again.

Harry frowned thinking hard what the Chiss could have meant, then it hit her. “He still follows the Code of the honour guard?” She assumed that there had to be some code for this guard. After all its name was honour guard and had consisted of the elite warriors of the Lasat.

“Indeed. He is a product of his culture and follows it’s code to a fault.” Thrawn acknowledged. “More so in the company of his ghost crew members. As you can see. When you step back from your emotions, you can achieve better results. Giving into your emotions takes energy away from you that you could use more productively.”

“I’ve heard that one before.” Harry told him. “It didn’t work then. It most likely won’t work now.”

 “You were able to control your emotions when you saved Crewman Panaka’s life.” Thrawn reminded her coolly turning towards her.

“That was different!” Harry objected crossing her arms protectively in front of her chest.

“How so?” Thrawn stepped closer to her raising his eyebrow in curiosity.

“I wasn’t turning off my emotions. I’m not a cold-hearted ba… ahm…fish. I…” Harry stopped searching for words on how to explain it properly. Thrawn took another few strong steps closer to her. She clenched her teeth. Too close. Harry had observed that he always invaded her space when he wanted to make a point.

 “Alright, What I did was basically delaying my emotional response to what I was experiencing. I mentally dammed up any emotions until Baila was out of danger. Once realizing that the critical point had passed and that she would make it, I let go of that block and allowed myself to experience those held back emotions, fears and endless possibilities of what could have happened had I failed at once.”

“Ah yes.” Thrawn commented. “That moment of emotional upheaval was clearly visible in your stance. That is something we can work on.”

“Excuse me?” Now it was on Harry to be confused. What the hell was her commander talking about now?

“Your emotional outbursts on board of my destroyer seem to get more frequently lately.” Thrawn remarked taking another step closer to her, while Harry turned her head towards the floor. “I’d like to know the reason for that.” _You’re the genius. Why don’t you figure it out?_

She had made sure that her necklace was masking her presence, but she had no desire to use her invented inhibitor on herself to stop her magic from slipping.

“Your gift is remarkable, yet uncontrolled it can be a severe liability.” Thrawn was now standing directly next to her chair invading her personal space entirely and she looked up to meet his eyes.

“You are holding my wand hostage, Sir.” She answered him fighting hard not to break eye contact with those scary red eyes. “In order to control, … my gift… as you call it, I need it. The wand makes sure that I do not use too much of my own power.”

There was the hint of a smile on Thrawn’s blue-skinned face. “You are perfectly capable to use your gift without your wand. But you are using it as a front in order to avoid learning on how to truly control your emotions.”

“No, I don’t.” Harry rebuked feeling her ire rise again. “The wand is a conduit. Normally, their function is to make wiz… ahm. people… like me able to use their power at all. Mine, however, works differently. It makes sure that I do not use too much force during the usage of my power.”

“Fascinating.” Thrawn remarked turning away from her slowly rounding his desk to get back to his seat. Harry took a silent breath of relief when he stepped away from her.

“However, I suspect that this is not entirely accurate.”

“What do you mean?” Harry ask fiddling with the right upper edge of her datapad. She wanted to get out of here. Her day had been a long one and the safety of her quarters was calling her. And she certainly didn’t want to talk about her emotions with Thrawn.

“According to my research it was not uncommon using some sort of tool to help Force sensitive children to focus. They were told that this tool would be imperative to master their gift.  What they, however, were not told is that it wasn’t this tool curbing their powers. It was them learning how to use it and how to control their powers.”

“Most people like me are unable to do magic at all without a wand.” Harry rebuked. “And since when does the empire allow unrestricted access to the Jedi Archives? Or their former teaching methods?” Harry questioned him stubbornly trying to hide how much Thrawn’s theory actually affected her. She shivered.  Could Thrawn be right? Perhaps Ollivander had lied to her? He certainly had acted strangely towards her. But then why? _No_. She decided that for once the Chiss could be wrong.

“The Jedi Archives are not the only source of information on how to deal with Force sensitives.” Thrawn answered her ominously with the hint of amusement.

“Well, don’t let the emperor find out about that.” Harry replied dryly.

Now the hint turned into a partial smile of amusement as Thrawn inclined his head. “Lt. Commander Vanto advised something quite similar.”

“I’m sure he has. His ‘disappearance’” she used air quotes with both her middle- and index fingers, while Thrawn observed her. “is the topic in the rumour mill.”  

“I’m aware.” Thrawn assured her calmly. “But we are digressing. I want you to practice your ‘delayed emotional response’ when studying the data. Additionally, I need you to exercise it when you are out on the field. You proved yourself capable to do this in pressing situations. Now it is time to extend this skill.”

“That will be difficult.” She remarked taking a deep breath.

“You are not one to shirk away from difficulties.” Thrawn pointed out pointing towards one hidden compartment Harry new contained her notebooks and most likely her wand. “Your notebooks indicate that you rather adore challenges.”

Harry froze. He should have had studied her scribblings and drawings in her notebooks enough by now to give them back to her. “I do like intellectual challenges.” Harry answered. “I’ve had more than enough emotional trials to master. I could live without them for a change.”

“Hm.” Trawn said mustering her. “Then I suggest that you are working step by step to get your emotions under control.”

“As I said. That’s not as easy as you believe. I’m not just fighting with my own emotions. But when I’m out there then I also can sense pretty much all the other sensations from other people I’m walking by. To block them out is rather exhausting and sometimes those emotions influence mine.” Harry tried to explain but she couldn’t really put her senses in words. She winced realizing what she had just revealed to him without thinking. _Shit!_ Thrawn was right. She needed to get her emotions in check or he would goat her into revealing more about her to him.

Judging from Thrawn’s smug facial expression that had exactly been his intention. Again, she had fallen right into his trap. “Alright, you’ve proven your point, Sir.” She grudgingly admitted with a slight growl. “I’ll try to do my best to curb my emotions.”

He inclined his head. “I will observe your progress.” He clasped his hands behind his back again and turned towards the large artwork depicting the two lizards on both sides. After a moment of contemplation, he turned back towards her and said. “I’m curious. How do you perceive my emotions?”

“You have emotions, Sir?” Harry said sarcastically before she could stop herself. She grimaced when Thrawn was now coming closer to her again with an unreadable expression on her face. His red eyes narrowed slightly. Of course, he had emotions, but she barely registered them when she concentrated. Only small flickers between a very orderly and structured mind that seemingly shifted in a strangeThere was a calmness around him that was almost southing compared to the loud sensations rushing towards her when she was with other humans.

“Please, answer the question.” Thrawn ordered velvety stopping next to her chair again. His voice had dropped a few degrees again. Harry’s neck hair straightened. _Danger_! She had gone too far again. Why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut. She concentrated hard, but it was quite useless. He was an opaque mystery to her. She couldn’t sense much, except a small flicker of something that she could perhaps interpret as slight irritation with her surrounded by curiosity.

“It’s different sensing you, Sir.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I can barely sense anything, except a small hint of annoyance with me perhaps. Not sure why that’s different with you, Sit. Perhaps because you from a different species, but on the other hand I had no problems sensing other aliens on Lothal.”  

She mentally mused that she could try touching his mind with hers but shied away from that. Connecting with someone’s mind was even more dangerous and amoral than reading someone’s diary. But on the other hand, he had her notebooks and her diary. So, it would only be fair. No, she mentally shook her head. If she tried that and he could somehow sense her then she would be in even worse trouble than she was now.

“Fascinating.” Thrawn remarked with the hint of a grin lurking at one edge of his lip. “Do you have experienced something similar with other species?”

Harry shook her head. “Haven’t met enough to give a definite answer to that. Only those I’ve encountered on planet and you.” She crossed her arms again. “And why are we talking about me? We were discussing the Rebels from this sector.” She deflected and tried to change the subject.

“Naturally.” Thrawn said nonplussed. “But there are further Rebel cells that are of immense interest to me.”

“Because you don’t want the cluster of different Rebel cells to band together as a would pose a more imminent threat to the empire?” Harry enquired.

“Yes, but I do not believe that this particular Rebel cell, I’m talking about is known to the others.” Thrawn divulged calmly sitting back down on his chair, without letting her out of his sight. “These Rebels have never been able to leave their planet on their own volition.” He continued freezing her in place with his stare. Harry gulped as it slowly dawned on her that he could mean her own planet. “You mean Earth?” Her voice broke once, and she cleared her throat. “I mean Terra?” _What happened now?_! Why did he bring this up? Had they done something? Her heartbeat accelerated in worry. Had the empire caused more chaos and destruction on her already extremely vulnerable planet? Had they destroyed and killed more innocents while she had been away?

“Have they done something?” She enquired with a stronger voice than she felt pleading Thrawn to answer her with her eyes. He did not answer for some time as the seconds trickled by. Yet Harry did not dare to brake his gaze.

“No.” Thrawn interrupted the silence. “No, the interesting thing is what they did not do.”

Harry frowned. _Ok. What is he going on about now?_ “What do you mean, Sir?”

“The empire expected a far higher rate of enlistment after your transmission.” Thrawn informed her. “Especially, after finding out that you were a person with some more influence than the average citizen before the empire came.” Harry had to fight her growing grin that would have revealed how proud she was of her people.

Harry shrugged. “A person’s influence can change within an instant. Just like that.” She snapped one of her fingers. “Especially, with my planet’s former obsession using social media. I was just riding the wave as long as it lasted.”

Thrawn’s eyes narrowed. “I told you once that you are a bad liar.” His voice had turned hard. “The digital chatter on your planet’s information network suggests that you weren’t ‘just riding a wave as long it lasted’. Our data analysts stationed on your planet could find evidence that you dabbled in economics, science, art and even politics for a rather extended period. Together with your two friends you’ve made quite a few formerly influential enemies.”

“That tends to happen when a younger generation has no intention to follow the established rulebook.” Harry answered bitterly staring angrily back at Thrawn. “So, if you want to accuse me of being rebellious, then go ahead Sir. I’ve been called worse and I wouldn’t even deny it. My entire generation was constantly shamed and belittled by the elder generations for wanting to change our planet for the better.”

Thrawn studied her putting his fingertips together. “Your rebellious tendencies are not in question here. They are an already well-established trait. A habit that is not easily broken. While wanting the best for ones people is something to strive for, you’ve done your planet a great disservice of warning them to enlist.”

Harry felt the colour drain from her face as cold sweat was rushing down her back. The lights began to flicker. How the hell had he detected her message?

 “How do you know that?” she asked with shaking voice taking a few hasty deep breaths to calm her down.

“While I may not know the exact phrasing of your message yet, your sign code using your eyes was blatantly obvious. Adding that knowledge to the very low enlistment rate it is easily deduced what you have told them.” Thrawn lectured her calmly. Then his voice became frostier. “I warned you that there would be consequences if you’d ever defied me.”

She couldn’t breathe. What would he do to her now? She had doomed her family, the Dursleys for something as unimportant as her vanity. “Please, Sir. Leave my family alone. Please leave the Dursleys alone. They’ve already gone through so much.” She pleaded with him, but his face remained hard. “They should not suffer for something that I did. I only wanted to protect my people from becoming cannon fodder.”

Thrawn ignored her pleading and continued his musing calmly. “I find it interesting that you are calling the Dursleys your family and not the Potters. You’re last name is Potter after all.”

“Oh, you want to take my brother?!” Harry bargained with tight voice. “You can have him alright. He won’t last a second in the empire and I won’t share a single tear for him or anyone else of the Potters.”

 _Are you crazy! If his magic is detected, then he could be trained by the inquisitors! No, he wouldn’t survive that training. He survived Voldemort! Yes, but only because I did most of the work for them._ Her mental discussion became heated. “But you wouldn’t be able to find him. Or anyone from the Magical Community.”

“They have a way of masking their location?” Thrawn enquired still ignoring her plead from earlier.

“Yes.” Harry nodded.

“Did you mask the location of your institutions the same way using Magical means?” he questioned her staring locking her eyes with his.

The dark-haired woman nodded again. “Yes, I did.”

“Then I want you to give us the exact locations of your schools and institutions.” Thrawn ordered. “as a sign of goodwill to regain my trust.”

Alright. That had to be what he was after. He had purposely backed her into this corner.

“Sir, I can’t.” she confessed.

“The curriculum of your institutions suggest that they could train future rebels this very moment.” Thrawn insinuated narrowing his eyes.

“No, they are not trained in handling offensive weapons.” Harry defended them. “Yes, they have martial arts training additionally to normal subjects, but this is defensive hand to hand combat and I literally can’t tell you where the schools are.” She explained pleadingly. “My kids are not a threat to the empire.”

“How unfortunate.” Thrawn commented calmly reaching for the console. Probably to give orders to arrest the Dursleys. She could not let that happen. Suddenly Thrawn was pushed back into his seat away from the console. His face portrayed his surprise.

“The schools are under a Fidelius Charm and I made sure that I’m not the secret keeper of that charm. So, even if I tell you the location of the schools, you or anybody else wouldn’t be able to remember it. The charm is designed to keep locations secret from enemies. Only the secret keeper can divulge the locations.” She quickly explained hoping to appease him.

And it seemed to work. He leaned back into his seat, put one of his hands on his chin and locked his glowing red eyes with her again. “And who exactly is this secret keeper?”

Harry sighed in defeat. “Somebody the empire probably won’t be able to find. Her name is Luna Lovegood.”


	21. News reports

Daily Prophet:

**_Breaking News-Harriet Potter turns traitor_ **

**_Much questions were asked lately about the whereabouts of the most infamous member of the Potter family. After years of trouble-making and constant agonising our Wizarding society had become blissfully silent around the vicious sister of our dear Boy-who-lived. Some of our sources informed us that she had left the Wizarding world behind to burden the Muggle World with her overbearing presence where she continued her excruciating ways. (For more information turn to page 3. )_ **

**_Yesterday, our most pressing questions were sufficiently answered. Some of you may even have listened to the special bulletin interrupting Celestina Warbeck’s wireless program. In that case you are well aware of her now truly exposed colours. This might prove dangerous for us. As she has knowledge about our hidden culture, we have questioned several experts on the severe implications for our peaceful world. To find out more and how you can protect your family turn to page 4-6._ **

**_A reliable source within the ministry previously told us that Harriet Potter was supposedly taken by the empire to serve as tribute. For detailed testimonials on what many Muggle-born related families have to go through turn to page 7-10.  Ms. Potter’s speech has made it abundantly clear that she never has been taken. No, dear readers. Harriet Potter never has been taken against her will.  She joined our oppressors by her own free will and has abandoned her own people to make a career in the Empire. As was to be expected she has sold her planet to the despots for her personal gain. One has to wonder if she has achieved her promotion the normal way or due to using her questionable femininity. This reporter decisively feels sorry for all the shame she brings upon the highly esteemed Potter family._ **

**_In her speech Harriet Potter pledges her alliance to the empire and to the emperor and requests others to follow her example to enlist. For a detailed transcript and analysis of the entire speech turn to page 7.) Rita Skeeter._ **

 

Potter Manor

Hermione Granger angrily dropped the Daily Prophet huffing in anger. “Well that farce of a report never stands a chance against the appraisal theory.”

“What the hell do you mean Hermione?” Alexander asked her munching on a fresh muffin.

“I mean that supposed upper market papers should be void of any terms that show any inclination of one side. This isn’t a neutral report. It’s more of an opinion piece.” She told him shaking her head.

Alexander and Ron both shrugged their shoulders, not quite understanding their friend’s problem.

“Well, I don’t like Skeeter, but we all heard the speech. So, for once Skeeter is telling the truth.” James Potter interjected.

Hermione snorted. “Not even close.”

“Alright, Hermione care to tell us what exactly is not correct in Ms. Skeeters report?” Lily Potter asked her son’s best friend in annoyance while filling Ginny’s tray. 

Hermione took a deep breath and collected herself. Alexander’s sister had never been excessively mean to her or attacked her personally, but she certainly had not gone easy on any other of Alexander’s friends. That there wasn’t any love lost between her and her family had been obvious to Hermione, but at that time she had put it down to jealously.

“Because we do not know the entire story Mrs. Potter. We have no idea why she left the Wizarding world, how she came to be with the empire or if the recording we’ve heard was even genuine.”

“Of course, it was genuine.” Lily Potter snorted shaking her head. “I do know my daughter’s voice.”

“Perhaps.” Hermione shrugged. “But I find it very hard to believe that a woman who speaks of the emperor as a ‘Nero’ is loyal to him. Additionally, I agree that it is her voice, but…”

“But what, Hermione? It’s pretty clear that she’s one of the bad guys now” Ron cut it. “Not surprising though.”

“I’d appreciated it if you didn’t interrupt me.” The bushy haired girl spat. “As I said. Her voice is the same, but her entire pronunciation and the speech pattern is completely off. She sounded like she was about to fall asleep at any moment and she sounded like an English Language learner. Something isn’t quite as it seems. I’m sure of it.”

“You are talking about Harry. My daughter always had a dark streak.” James reminded them.

Hermione locked eyes with Ginny, who shook her head, a pasty glow on her face at smelling the food. “How much do you want to bet on that I’m right?” she challenged her friends.

Ron gulped ducking away. Deciding that he didn’t want to bet against his fiancé. Whenever she proposed a bet, he could be sure that he would lose it. Alexander also ducked and avoided eye contact much to the same reason. Ginny chuckled.

“Don’t bet against her!” another voice from the fireplace called. A second later Remus stepped through brushing dust off his shoulder.

“What are you doing here?” Lily asked him tensely. Their relationship had become more than strained when he and Tonks had made Harry Teddy’s godmother. Not Alexander. James had even partially refused any further contact with his friend. But it had not come as a big surprise to her as her daughter had always been closer to Remus than to any of them. She had always adored the werewolf.

“Giving you a head start on tomorrow’s news.” He answered with a gleeful grin as he put the edition of tomorrows Quibbler on the table.

“Hermione is correct. The Daily Prophet only knows parts of the story. Mr. Lovegood received highly valuable intel on the Holo-vid. Harry is not really with the empire.”

“Oh please, Lovegood’s Quibbler is even less accurate than the Daily Prophet” Alexander complained.

“Perhaps, not but even he has his moments. I know where the intel came from. It’s reliable. The Daily Prophet will have some serious backpedalling to do tomorrow.” Remus mused grinning.

Hermione dived for the Quibbler before anybody else could get their hands on it and read.

 

 

**_Breaking News: Harriet Thea Athena Potter uses empire’s transmission to warn_ **

**_Nobody can deny that with the empire’s arrival all our lives have been uprooted significantly even though the Wizarding world has been affected less strongly. The Wizarding World has noted the emptiness Harriet Potter has left behind when she, for health reasons, as we were told, had decided to depart from the Wizarding World.  (For a detailed profile of Ms. Potter’s achievements in the Muggle World turn to page 2.)_ **

“Health reasons?!” Lily interrupted incredulous. “What health reasons?”

“The psycho-somatic ones Lily.” Remus swiftly answered her with thin lips remembering the evening Harry had decided that she had to leave or eventually die of a broken-heart syndrome realizing that she would never get the love from her family, that she had so craved for deep down. Remus still had assumed that the horcrux that had been “discovered” in Alexander’s scar in his sixth year, had been responsible for their falling out of love for their daughter, but now he wasn’t so sure about it anymore.

Hermione continued.

**_Those familiar with the philanthropic prodigy know that the accusations of yesterday’s edition of the Daily Prophet are not adequately researched. The Quibbler sees it necessary to inform you with facts against the unparalleled defamation of the Daily Prophet and its sister Magazine Witch weekly._ **

**_According to our sources in the Muggle World and in the Wizarding world Harriet Potter did enlist to the empire, but not because she wanted to. Everybody being familiar with her character knows that she has no love for autocratic regimes. (For detailed information about her philanthropic work turn to page 6) The empire, which had suffered heavy losses before crippling our planet, issued an order to conscript at least one abled bodied family member of each family. Harriet Potter’s cousin Dudley Dursley, son to Petunia Dursley, sister of Mrs. Lily Potter, was conscripted. Ms. Harry Potter, however, chose to take his place to spare the Dursley unnecessary heartbreak. One can only hope that the empire doesn’t find out that she was in fact part of the alliance to defeat the first star fleet of Star Destroyers. (For more information about that turn to page 8)._ **

“She was what?” Lily jumped, colour draining from her face. Alexander just shrugged uninterested and James just sighed. Remus frowned. Perhaps there was still something within Lily that cared for daughter. Even though it was merely a flicker.

Hermione shrugged and continued again.

**_After approximately three years of silence on her, our ministry source was able to establish contact with her through a former Order member stationed on the same Star Destroyer as Ms. Potter. According to this source Ms. Potter seems to be the only Terran (Empire’s term referencing our planet Earth), which had been transferred and trained in a Naval Academy. All other known conscripts are used as Storm troopers in the Empire’s military._ **

**_As Ms. Potter referenced in her speech she has demasked a serial killer on board the ISD Chimera, which earned her a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant after standing trial before the High Command. According to the same source she is now forced to work as Grand Admiral Thrawn’s personal aide.  He is said to be the only non-human within Imperial High Ranks, who is known for his superior intelligence and strategic competence. According to our source it was him issuing the order to create the transmission that has been shown on every continent._ **

**_While many in the Wizarding World, having listened to Lt. Potter’s words, may be under the impression that she has betrayed us, the Muggles were able to decipher a secret code she has been able to sneak in her transmission. (For detailed information turn to page 10)._ **

Hermione quickly turned the pages until she reached a page showing the entire recording in one picture with an entire article analysing it. She quickly scanned the page and gasped. She may have chosen to live in the Wizarding World with Ronald and his family, but she knew that name. Corporations wise he had been a competitor to Harriet Potter’s company she had built together with her two close Muggle friends Antony and Raymond. Family wise, he was the elder brother of one of her two friends. She remembered that even though they had been competitors they had to have been on friendly terms. Rumour had been that the two companies had ever worked together on a large project. But nobody had been able to confirm it. There was only one leaked photo that had shown a relaxed Harry, her friends, Howard and several of the planet’s brightest minds hanging out together in a large living room with small unhealthy snacks, loads of energy drinks, laptops and stacks of paper. They all had laughed about something. She was sure that picture was still somewhere in her parents house.

“Mioni, are you alright?” Ron asked attentively.

“Yes, sure. Seriously, Remus. You are calling him a reliable source? He is a close friend of Harriet, who probably tries to save her face. This might be a well written forgery.” She told him angrily.

“Except it isn’t.” Remus protested. “Yes, Howard is friendly toward Harry, but if you read through to the third paragraph, you can see that it wasn’t just him who speak of her using Morse Code. Two chats in the … what do the Muggles call it… ahm. Dark web, no, dark net? Yes, that’s it. In the dark net deciphered it and are slowly distributing the information.”

“Howard?” Hermione questioned. “You are on first name basis with Howard Strong? How did you manage that?”

“Let me guess?” Alexander cut in “Harry introduced you two and who exactly is Howard Strong?”

“No, Harry did not exactly introduce us.” Remus answered shaking his head. “But he knew of my connection with our mutual friend and knew how to contact us.”

“What does that even mean?” James scoffed shaking his head in outrage.

“It probably means that they didn’t meet personally! But then how do you know him?” Hermione mused. “Everyone in the Muggle world knows about that family, but very few are able to get on a first name basis with them. They are all extreme workaholics and brilliant inventors. If I remember correctly from the Wikipedia article Howard Strong’s grandfather was the first better known inventor and had to flee Austria in WWII with some of his family members. But because he was unable to take much with him, he rigged their home so that nothing of his inventions could be found and used by the Nazis. He came to London and worked teaching at Kings College, where he encountered his future wife. There are pictures of him lounging and discussing with Freud, or Stefan Zweig. Other Austrians forced into Exile. After the war he relocated to the US and worked himself up again, accumulating a fortune. His only son Richard, Howard and Antony’s father, was just as brilliant and added to their family’s fortune. From what I’ve heard Howard and Anthony are just as sharp and scarily intelligent as their forefathers.”

“Harry went to school with Anthony. That’s how she met them. I thought you knew about this.” Remus shook his head.

“No, how should we have known that?” James shrugged. “She wasn’t exactly talking much when she was here.”

“On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being not quite to 10 being extremely, how obsessed were you with that family?” Ginny asked Hermione curiously.

“Before I knew about Hogwarts, I’d say I was quite obsessed with them.” Hermione conceded biting her lower lip sheepishly while the rest chuckled.

“Guess I have to contact my parents if they know something more about this?” Hermione pointed at the magazine.

“But that’s against the law, Mione!” Alexander cut in scandalized.

“Who’s going to snitch on me, you?” the bushy haired shot back. “You didn’t actually think that I would cut any contact with my parents. Especially, with the empire breathing down on everybody’s necks. We had to make it appear as if I had died to throw them off my tail.”

“You are right of course, Hermione.” Lily nodded empathically, but how in Merlin’s name did you manage to stay in contact with them?”

“Simple. Laptop and Data stick.” Hermione shrugged meeting blank faces from the others.

“You have a dark-net access, don’t you?” Remus asked good-heartedly but Hermione only frowned.

“Ah, no I don’t. I mean only criminals are using the dark-net. And besides, I have no idea on how to access it. Some kind of special browser is needed, and someone has to invite you.”

Remus cursed. “I don’t know how all that exactly works, but I do know that the empire monitors the open world wide web. Most muggles have fled into the dark net. If you used the open web, then the empire probably knows that you are alive by now.”

 

Malfoy Manor.

Draco was sitting at the large dining table reading through the article again. Scorpius had predicted that there would be a speech transmission of Harry and now his parents were entirely convinced that he was a seer. His aunt however disagreed for some reason. She was thinking in another direction, but she didn’t want to share her theory just yet. He had no idea what to think. It was getting out of hand.

 His persistent son, sitting cross-legged on the dinner table was currently leaning over another copy of the same paper with a magnifying glass and a copy of what Teddy had called Morse Code. He was observing the picture closely, trying to spot any blinking. Scorpius was convinced that there was a secret message. Draco wasn’t so sure about it though. He leaned back and observed the picture showing his former lover on his own copy of the Daily Prophet.

She looked so foreign in that hideous uniform. Green usually did suit her. Especially if it was matched with her beautiful eyes.  He had loved her in Slytherin green dresses, but Harry had only worn them if she had wanted to. So, when she had worn them, he had been lucky in every sense of the word. Now with this strange greyish green of her uniform, he found that it was so unlike her. Her uniform was hiding much of her figure. He squinted his eyes getting closer to the picture. Had she become slimmer? And he could not see her hair as it was hidden under a cap. Not one single hair out of place. That alone was an impressive feat. He had always loved the scent of her hair. Although it was so unruly, it had always felt like silk in his hands and … He shook his head to clear it again before his memories could become more heated. That was unproper to think that way so soon after his wife’s passing.

But, he knew her well enough that although the Daily Prophet claimed that she was siding with the enemy. Her seemingly impassive face was one that she had often used as a mask in the Wizarding world. To hide how much she had been hurting. The Potters however, had never realized this. That woman, “the Baroness” or “widow”, had taught her how. The woman had been dangerous. His father had even known that Squib. And the way she was blinking he assumed that she was probably holding back tears. Or was she? And they were missing the usual spark he was so used to, combined with a barely hidden grin or laughter. But that had been only one of her allures. He had never quite been able to anticipate what she would do next, when they had spent time together or during her short time at Hogwarts. She really had been a pain in the neck for her brother, his friends or goons as she had called them, and most especially for Dumbledore. His parents had also been amused hearing about her pranks and antiques.

“What are you doing on the table, Scorpius?” Lucius said raising his voice after seeing his grandson on the dinner table. Something that was not acceptable. But the young boy just ignored him. Whenever he was focused heavily on a task, then nothing could get him away from it.

“Scorpius?” his father asked again.

Draco leaned back in his seat, sighed and shook his head. “There’s no use father. He’s too focused on the task.”

“What is he doing anyway?” the elder Malfoy asked sitting down at the head of the table next Draco frowning at him. “Interesting read?”

Draco warily rubbed his front. “Scorpius is convinced that Harriet talked to him and only him and informed him that she would hide a secret message in the transmission. He sees it as his duty to find it. Hence, his hasty late-night visit to the Lupins.”

“That’s very unlikely.” His father mused. “But perhaps he is a medium and channels her persona.”

“If that’s the case then why does he channel Harry and not Astoria, father?” Draco rebuked angrily and then continued whispering.

“There is so much that doesn’t make any sense: Astoria had a hereditary curse, that was activated after our marriage. A curse, which usually kills the firstborn of every line, but Scorpius is fine. Everyday I dread to go to sleep because I’m afraid that he is going to lie dead in his bed in the morning. He is so… so adorably strange, so bright, but it seems that he is able to perceive things that I can’t protect him from. He looks very much like me, but I wasn’t even close being as bright as him at that age. Wasn’t I?”

“Lucius took poured himself a glass of wine and shook his head. “You were bright, Draco, that’s a fact. But it seems that Scorpius is just an earlier starter.”

“Are you going down memory lane with the Daily Prophet?” his father enquired to change the subject.

Draco snorted and turned to page three. “Not even close. The only thing the Daily Prophet got right about her was that she left the Wizarding world. She didn’t work in the company they are mentioning. She was one of the three founders and quickly expanded it. What they call her ‘overbearing presence on the Muggle World’ that was ‘disrupting traditions and cultures around the world’ was her charity school program. Was she outspoken about breaking traditions and culture norms, yes, but her primary goal was getting these children food and most especially education to give them a chance and a choice in life. The trio founded this organization when she was about sixteen years old. Do you know why the program worked? She studied their history and cultures and tried to find out how much they could implement it in their curriculums. She was including the children’s family’s in building the schools.  You can’t tear something down that you’ve worked so hard to build. She didn’t go there and dictated them on how they had to live, like many other charities love to do. She opened schools that offered an international curriculum with some personal additions. What the Daily Prophet also doesn’t mention is that after a few years the children of those schools started to get top placements in all kinds of international competitions.”

Draco smiled at the memory when Harry had found out about their first results. She had been overjoyed and glowed in happiness.

Lucius swirled his glass and shook his head. “You don’t sound like merely a good friend of hers. The other mystery girl you spoke of a few days ago.” He pointed at the paper. “That was Harry Potter! She was the girl that…” he hesitated to look at Scorpius, “that went to a backstreet abort… ahm angelmaker?”

Draco nodded and froze. Cold and hot showers where rushing down his back in realization. It had been the Daily Prophet telling the Wizarding World about that. He had believed the very paper that was now writing so much misinformation about her. And he remembered that she had desperately tried to reach him with her owls about a month later, which he had sent back unopened in anger.

He quickly searched for the paragraph where they repeated the claim that she had aborted her child, but there was one single sentence that mentioned she had been seen visiting a small grave. There was a grave with his unborn son. Was this sentence fact or fiction?

“They are talking about a grave she visited once.” Draco said hoarsely. “I need to find out if that’s true.”

Lucius frowned gesturing towards his grandson who was no listening with interest to their conversation. “Why is that important? You have Scorpius who needs your attention. You need to focus on the living, not the dead.”

“You don’t understand, father.” Draco responded. “It was just the Daily Prophet writing about her getting you-know-what. No other source spoke about it and I… I… just believed it. What if this information was just as incorrect as what they’ve printed today? I could have severely wronged her. That could be the reason why the Dursleys are this furious with me. They are just as protective over Harry as she is about them!”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Draco.” His father reminded him more forcefully. “The past is the past. She is now working for this empire that is controlling the planet. We need to focus on Scorpius right now.”

“I’m focusing on Scorpius. If I don’t find out now what really happened, then he surely will investigate when he is older. What if he is channelling Harry’s persona because he can sense that there is an unresolved issue.”

“What are you two quarrelling about?” Narcissa enquired closing the door from the library. “I could hear you halfway through the manor.”

“That’s because you were eavesdropping, nana.” Scorpius shrugged his shoulders giggling at her astonished and playfully strict face.

“So, you know Papá wants to visit a grave and grandpa is against it. See, there is a message in the picture. But it’s not complete. See. The picture repeats after a few sentences” the little boy puffed his chest proudly.

Narcissa went over to him and leaned hugging her grandson protectively towards her chest while peaking over his shoulder to the sheet of scribble her grandson had created. The other two Malfoys also where edging closer.

**_-.. .. -.. / -.-- --- ..- / .-. . .- .-.. .-.. -.-- / -... . .-.. .. . ...- . / - .... .- - / .. / .-- --- ..- .-.. -.. / ... ..- -... -- .. - / - --- / - .... .. ... / .-. . --. .. -- . ..--.. / -.. --- / -. --- - / . -. .-.. .. ... - -.-.-- / -.-- --- ..- / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / -... . / -.-. .- -. -. --- -. / ..-. --- -.. -.. . .-. -.-.-- / .. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / -. --- - / -... . -. -.. / - .... . / -.- -. . . .-.-.- / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / -.-- --- ..- ..--.. / .--. .-.. .- -.--_ **

**_Did you really believe that I would submit to this regime? Do not enlist! You will be cannon fodder! I will not bend the knee. Will you? Play …_ **

“That’s impossible!” Lucius murmured.

 


	22. TIE Fighters

_Harriet’s entire body was hurting from her training with the instructor, the widow had hired for her. And she still had the entire day in school before her. By now she had hoped to have made some progress in her “martial arts training”, she could see her own progress in the ballet training as she was able to move more gracefully and could bend further than before, but she seemed to have no talent whatsoever for martial arts. Learning the different stances, positions was easy, but implementing them was impossible. She was far better in dodging the attacks than performing them. And she was unable to attack when her trainer wanted her to attack._

_And to make matters worth. The red-haired woman was watching her every move like a hawk, pursing her lips as she radiated annoyance. Her middle-aged instructor was much more patient with her and constantly reassured her that she did fine only to be reprimanded by the Baroness who vented that she didn’t progress as fast as she wanted._

_Harry bowed mimicking her kind instructor and turned towards her patron wishing that she had never met her. What was the point of all this additional training?_

_“What goes through your head before are about to attack?” she asked her when she gestured Harry to fall in next to her._

_Harry tried to catch her breath, putting her hands to her hips. She didn’t know how to explain it. But she would certainly try. Her future depended on the goodwill of her patron. “I don’t really know. It is confusing. When_ Mr. _Pínghéng asks me to attack him, there is soo much rushing through my head. All the different possibilities that he has shown me and before I can decide on one too much time has passed.” She wiggled her head. “And if I try to attack, I mix the different possibilities and I think you saw how that ended.”_

 _The lady huffed. “You are a defensive fighter. That won’t do. Defensive fighting might be the death of_ you _young lady. You will have to learn how to attack. Anything else why you are hesitating?”_

 _Harry gulped wringing her hands. It would probably sound exceedingly stupid to the Widows ears. She nodded hesitantly. “I’m afraid of hurting_ Mr. _Pínghéng when I attack.”_

_Her patron snorted in amusement and broke out into laughter. “Hurting him? You are a long way from making that happen, Harriet.”_

_She shook her head. Of course, she couldn’t tell her what she was, but if she wasn’t careful, then she might_ accidently _reveal herself and that would be the end of her Muggle career. “I could_ accidently _hurt him.”_

 _“No, you couldn’t.” the Baroness stopped and locked eyes with her. “I’m fully aware of your abilities, young lady. So, is_ Mr. _Pínghéng. In fact, he was the one who confirmed them for me. I made him your teacher because he is far more balanced then I am. If I were your teacher, then you’d curse me to the moon and back. Your dear Professor Snape is the Easter Bunny compared to me.”_

 _Harriet’s breathing hitched at the mention of her potion’s professor. How did the baroness know about him? As a former_ alumna _of her school, she couldn’t be a witch. She regarded her from the side. Her fashion sense was modern but did have a barely noticeable touch of gothic. Could she perhaps family in the wizarding world? If she did, then she probably also knew about her famous brother? But then why did she bother with her? Did she want to use her somehow? She had to be extremely careful. Her suspicion grew._

_“Sorry, Madam. But how do you know Professor Snape?” she enquired keeping her voice diminutive in order to avoid sounding too demanding._

_“Stop squeaking like a weak little mouse.” The other lady admonished her with_ raised _eyebrow. “You are strong. So, speak up!”_

_Harry took a deep breath and repeated it more confidently: ”How do you know Professor Snape?”_

_A half-smirk was creeping up the pale face. “Wouldn’t you like to know. He is an old useful acquaintance of mine. That is all I will tell you for now. I believe you have exams midterm exams in a few hours. So, off you go.” She dismissed her with a nod and Harry was left with even more questions. Now, she really would have to meditate shortly before the start of her exams to clear her head. Just like_ Mr. _Pínghéng had taught her._

* * *

 

Shivering, Harry rubbed her front. She hadn’t found any time to do something against her persistent headache that she had somehow developed on Lothal. Everything was dialled up. Blocking out people was more challenging. Her bones ached. People were everywhere and the walls in the imperial complex were too thin to get away from people. Her “office” in the lower levels of the imperial complex was just a small box with a mall workstation and a seat in it next to a dozen others. People were cramped in like Sardines. Perhaps the air circulation in the complex made her ill. It seemed that the bloody cleaning droids needed to be recalibrated. Or it was her dread of what Thrawn would come up with as her punishment for defying him.

The atmosphere of Lothal contained a similar mix of gases to Earth with minimal differences. So that couldn’t be the problem. She had checked. But what she was worried about as the black and oily dust that settled on everything and probably came from the imperial factories. She assumed that it could be toxic. Pryce would probably be furious if she found out that she had taken samples and given one to the imperial laboratory on Lothal and one to the laboratory on the Chimera’s med centre. Her commander probably wouldn’t mind her curiosity.  

Gravity on this planet was slightly higher but still under the 1.5g range. It could put her circulatory system under some pressure, but her body would be able to adapt, and she shouldn’t suffer any ill effects. If the empire decided to put her on planets with higher gravity, then she would have lasting physical problems. Her first adventure on this planet probably had been to short to have any lasting effects on her body but she felt off or it was really that awful dust.

Having Governor Pryce admonishing and scolding her for not being able to reach Thrawn in his office a few minutes ago hadn’t made her day any better. So, she was lucky that it hadn’t gotten worse. But it was still early. Thrawn was probably too focused analysing his holograms. Lt. Commander Vanto had warned her that Thrawn could lose time when he was too focused. Or he had just not wanted to deal with Pryce and rerouted her to her. Or he was testing her again.

“We just received confirmation that Agent Kallus and Governor Price are about to return from Skystrike Academy.” Harry informed the Grand Admiral entering his planet side office after entering her code at the outside panel. He stood motionless in the dark of his office surrounded by a shining circle picturesque hologram. So, art it was. She should have known. She stopped behind him just outside the circle of holograms. It all seemed a bit surreal. He almost disappeared among the art surrounding him.

“And the deserters?” he asked calmly his meditative gaze still focused onto one of the holograms. One showing two Twi’leks and a small cheeky Twi’lek girl with an infectious smile.

“Cadet Rake Gahree was shot down during their first attempt to flee. The others three, Wedge Antilles, Derek Klivian and Ria Talla, who turned out to be Rebel Sabine Wren, escaped at the second attempt. Captain Vult Skerris mentioned that they person piloting the TIE was most likely Wedge Antilles as two manoeuvres were used that this cadet preferred.”

“Hm.” He drew it out. “Has Agent Kallus been able to identify how they managed to infiltrate the academy?” he asked her still focused on the hologram.

“Yes. He did. Sabine Wren used a counterfeit data card which allowed her access to the Academy. There’s a recording of her arriving with a fresh batch of trainees. As she came with the new ones, she must have been taken somebody else’s place. He is still trying to figure out which cadet’s missing or if they are missing at all” She used air quotes at the word missing.

“Very good.” Thrawn stated finally turning around measuring her. _Very Good?_ Governor Price had been furious when she had relayed the information about the escapees to her instead of the Grand Admiral. Apparently, she did pass. No, turfs of fur covering her uniform this time.  Or did he refer to the information that she had relayed to him.

“Speaking of piloting. When you were in the academy, why did compromise your own scores in the starfighter track?” Thrawn clasped his hands behind his back.

Harry rolled her eyes when he turned her back on her as he leisurely went back behind his desk. She pursed her lips before she answered.

“Simply because I didn’t want to end as a TIE fighter pilot, Sir. As you probably know, I value my own life a bit too much for throwing it away flying those death traps. I knew that even if I somehow managed to stay in the command track, that I would most likely end as a technician. Much safer.”

“Only 10 percent of the of TIE pilots successfully navigate the intense training and testing of the Imperial Navy.” The Chiss lectured her evenly.

“Really? I sincerely doubt the validity of these numbers, Sir.” Harry interrupted snidely.”10 percent of the TIE pilots in training could never fulfil the high demand of fighter pilots the empire needs. Like I said, the empire is running through their pilots like wildfire. But they are excellent for target practice.” She nodded eagerly and winced. Nodding wasn’t good for her head right now.

Thrawn’s eyebrow rose. Harry gulped. Perhaps she had been a bit too forward again. And she had promised that she would tone her insubordination down a bit. But her head was pounding. So, her patience ran thin. “Are you speaking about your time in the Academy or about the transition of your planet into the empire?”

 _Why don’t you figure it out!_ Harry rose her eyebrow challenging. “The Academy was certainly …informative.” She answered to keep it as vague as possible evading his question but had to fight her grin remembering how easy the first wave of TIES she had ever seen had been taken out.

“Your instructor noted that you could have been one of the better TIE fighter pilots to come out of your Academy, had you not displayed irrational behaviour and ignored direct commands during the simulations.”

“When and why did this conversation become about me, Sir?” she enquired with slight annoyance in her voice as she stepped closer to his desk. “We were talking about the deserters.”

“You do not begrudge them for deserting?” Thrawn stated calmly sitting down while holding her gaze intensely.

“Hell no! Of course not.” she shook her head and sheepishly bit her lips afterwards. _Ups._ That had slipped out. “For all I know they are now flying much saver and let’s face it, far better fighters than the empire has to offer.”

 His face remained unreadable but calm.

“They easily outmanoeuvred LS-607, supposedly the best pilot Lothal had to offer.” Harry answered blocking her urge to rub her front.

“So, you would have done the same, had the situation presented itself?” Thrawn asked her not breaking his intense gaze and Harry didn’t back down and stared back. Two could play this staring contest but the seat was very inviting.

She stepped closer to the chair opposite of him and still waited for him to allow her to sit. She really needed to sit.  “I believe you already know the answer to that, Sir. I’m not going to confirm or deny your question in here.”

“You certainly found amusement in shooting down your wingmen during the simulations.” He stated clasping his hands.

“They were annoying. Those were only simulations.” She shrugged. “So, no harm done. Before my second real dog fight practice, I purposely grounded my TIE before I could make it out of the hanger. Considering that one of my fellow cadets actually died during that round, it was probably the right thing to do.” She explained forcefully. A new wave of pressure rushing through her head.

He narrowed his eyes. “How did you know that one of your cadets would die?”

Her blood froze. Well, she hadn’t really known, but upon reflection on that event she had attributed it to her instinct back then. Perhaps she had known.  It had been a familiar sensation. She shook her head and took a deep breath.  “Well, I didn’t.” He remained still; his eyebrow rose trapping her in his gaze. He was unconvinced of her statement.

“I didn’t know” she repeated gripping her data reader tighter. “I didn’t know exactly that somebody would die, but I had a bad feeling about the practice, insomnia during the night didn’t help and…I was really terrified to fly out of that hanger that day. The instructor had told us that all the weapons would be offline and disabled but considering how lax things were handled in the academy, I didn’t trust his words. I guess my subconscious was just processing all that I knew and warned me not to follow his orders.”

“Hm, that could be one explanation. There might be other ones.” Thrawn mused.

She rolled her eyes before she could stop herself finally braking eye contact. Thrawn had won this battle.

 “Then why did you purposely ground your TIE that day? You did fly sporadically on other days. At least until you reached the minimal points to pass this course.” Thrawn enquired, a slight frown creasing his lips.

“As I said. I really, I didn’t want to fly out of that hangar that day. I saw an opportunity and took it.” she shrugged egging closer to the seat hoping that he would get the hint. He ignored it and Harry mentally groaned.

“Reprogramming engine control within a few short minutes is a bit more than just an opportunity.” He remarked.

“I had a whole night of insomnia to mentally go through all scenarios. So, when I was in the cockpit, I knew exactly what to do.” She told him feeling a bit of pride swelling. After all they hadn’t figured out how she had grounded that TIE and had just assumed that it had been a system failure at first.

 “The instructor was exceedingly annoying, and my fellow cadets resembled …” She stopped before she could make a comparison that would make her sorry. Her commander’s stern gaze halting her. She had to be careful now. She shook her head managing not to flinch. “I’m not finishing that sentence, Sir.”

“Pity. I would have liked to hear that ending.” He stated with a hint of amusement. Or he was mocking her. She didn’t know. He was hard to read.

“In other words, my instructor noted that the traditional conditioning to be fanatically loyal to the Empire and willing to sacrifice my life and the lives of my fellow wingmen to complete our assigned missions didn’t work on me. I have a problem with living beings being considered expendable. Even worse when they are conditioned to see themselves as expendable.”

“I am aware.”

“Well, the instructors can’t complain about my refusal to listen. After all I did try to teach my colleagues a valuable lesson.” Harry shrugged her shoulders glancing at the seat next to her. Thrawn had still not gestured her to sit. She felt a bit like a school kid standing in front of the headmaster’s desk waiting for the inevitable.

“What lesson would that be?” Thrawn enquired coolly.

“To not trust anybody. Especially, not those who send them out in swarm of TIES entirely unprotected.” _So, I basically just told him that I don’t trust him or his officers. Well, done Harry._

“TIE fighters should be able to trust their commander’s orders.” Thrawn contradicted her.

“Well, then the empire should value their lives and built better star fighters.” Harry heatedly shot back remembering how eager her fellow cadets had been to serve as TIE pilots. “Whoever designed the TIE fighter should be kicked to the curb. It is utter crap. It’s no wonder that the rebels have the better pilots.” _Ok, I should shut up now. Better not give him any ideas._ Another wave of pain was spreading through her head and she grit her teeth.

 _“_ We do have more disciplined pilots.” Thrawn

 “If by discipline you mean that they have no imagination whatsoever in their tactics, then yes they are disciplined.” Harry said with a hint of sarcasm. “They are unable to adapt and perform to unforeseeable situations that they weren’t trained in. The rebel pilots are more experienced who can take on more numerous enemies and execute more mission types.” She took a deep steadying breath.

“Please, do continue with your analysis.” Thrawn encouraged her unfazed. “About the TIES in particular.”

 “Well, the TIE fighter was designed rather recklessly for two things in mind- speed and a low cost. This of course meant stripping out essential items that would be essential for any other starfighter”. She counted: “shields, missiles, life support, a hyperdrive, and landing gear. I mean it sure is fast- a TIE fighter can easily overtake an A-wing or X-Wing at full throttle. TIEs were meant to be manoeuvrable, but I believe only the rumoured Jedi with their reflexes could really take advantage of such speed. TIEs lack of a shield means one single shot can take it out. So, as you already know the survivability among TIE pilots is therefore naturally extremely low which means that very few TIE pilots can become Aces and get decent at piloting. Like I said, they are good target practice.

“That was my conclusion as well.” Thrawn nodded. “You are correct. TIE fighters are viewed as expendable by many commanders. A dangerous oversight. Their lack of landing gear and hyperdrives also means they are dependent on capital ship carriers for transportation. If a battle turns sour for the Empire, the valuable capital ship, might jump out of system without collecting its TIE fighter compliment first, which means that the TIE fighters would be left to either die or be captured. The latter being the less likely.” He regarded her calmly. His eyes shining like red orbs in contrast to the darkness of the room behind him. 

“My survey among the pilots in my fleet, as unfruitful as it was, showed that they bemoaned the TIE’s lack of proton missiles even if it hinders their dogfighting ability. Laser canons aren’t very effective for bombing or attacking capital ships. It also restricts TIEs to a strictly superiority starfighter, unlike the multipurpose X-wings, some rebel cells have acquired.” Thrawn mentioned almost as if continuing Harry’s thoughts. _He did a survey. Not surprised that it was ‘unfruitful’. The pilots are commander pleasers._

“TIEs also suffer from their wings.” She cut in. “Those big hexagons present quite the easy target. One shot to them and the fragile fighter is toast. And what’s even worse.” She paused wishing to be out of here to get something for her annoying headache. “For the TIE pilot, those large panels block their view. They can’t even see out their sides and as you’ve told me countless times you can’t divide attention. The pilots have to look out of the viewport and have to keep the target computer in sight otherwise they miss other’s crushing into them. So, their eyes just jump back and forth between the viewport and the targeting computer. So, yes. TIE fighters are clearly the worst designed ship in the entire galaxy. We can only hope that there aren’t any clever predators coming from a neighbouring galaxy or the empire would lose.”

Thrawn straightened at that, furrowing his eyebrows. His eyes glittering darkly. _Wait. The predator he talked about a few weeks ago. They are from the adjoining galaxy?!_ Could that be? Which one? There was no mistaken it. This time his facial expression was abundantly clear. Should she ask him about her suspicion? She decided against it and continued in hopes of cutting this whole conversation short:

“TIE fighters are intended to be deployed in swarms, entire wings of cheaply produced fighters deployed either from planetary bases or large mobile platforms. As TIE fighter doctrine does not consider surviveability to be particularly useful, to the point where the pilots have to bring their own survival gear because they have poor ejection mechanisms.”

“The Rebel fighters are built around multiple mission types. The X-Wing, which was also used by supporters of Nightswan can execute bombing missions as well as dog-fighting an A-Wing is a scout/fighter, and the Y-Wing is a bomber/support fighter…They therefore do put a premium on suviveability an force multiplication.” He continued evenly.

“And unlike the Empire, the Rebel cells have fewer resources, and must focus on quality over quantity. Things like shields, hyperdrives, and long-range weapons allow the rebel to take on more enemies and survive at a much higher rate than their imperial rivals. As I already noted this leads to the rebels having better defended, more experience pilots who can take on more numerous enemies and execute more mission types…and they can do this without capital ship support. The Phoenix Squadron for example was able to win by having a more experienced pilot who is more capable to absorb damage and execute their missions. If the Empire invested in some higher quality fighters, which could even be deployed through hyperspace, then that would give the Rebels a run for their money.”

 “Thank you for your detailed analysis.” Thrawn said the corner of his lips twitching. “You just helped me gather ideas for a potential new star fighter. Certainly, more concepts than our TIE pilots provided.”

“Thank you, Sir.” She conceded. “As you are in such an agreeable mood. May I be so bold and ask if you’ve come to a conclusion about my punishment that you were alluding to a few days ago.”

“You may.” He replied with smoothly modulated voice. “For now, I waived your shore leaves for the next five years. The rest will be revealed in due time.”

Her eyes widened. She hadn’t known that she did have shore leaves. But then she was an imperial junior officer. So, she might have had some allowance for shore leaves. But she lost them before she knew about them. Five more years without seeing her family. Five more years without being able to hold them close to her. So much could happen in these years. What if she would never see them again!? Her heart broke. She felt like air had been knocked out from her. Tears were stinging her eyes, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. And considering that there was a “rest” that he obviously didn’t feel the need to divulge, more bad things were to come. She couldn’t let her emotions get the better of her now. She gulped and let slowly let out air that she had been holding. _I’m the master of my emotions._ She focused on letting them go into the imagined steady stream that was flowing through her _. I need to let them go until there is only peace_. She gulped, her head pounding. Another steading breath to wash away her heated emotions. She could almost hear her words that she had been thought so many years ago. It came back to her again. She could do this. It worked. After another heartbeat she locked her gaze with Thrawn again, who studied her intently.

“Understood.” She answered him more composed than she felt.

* * *

 

Draco choked on his much-needed morning coffee when he got a glimpse of the title page of the Quibbler Remus had just sent him. He quickly scanned the page and his heart plumbed. It was dealing with Harry’s issue as well, but entirely differently. Scorpius had been right. There was a message. It was so much more like the Harry he knew. And reading through her message, he felt the blood drain from his body. Scorpius had truly detected parts of her message the day before.

“Draco. What is it?” his mother asked him worry creeping into her voice sipping from her tea pot.

“Scorpius.” Draco hoarsely addressed his son who followed the short exchange with interest despite his fatigue.

“You are going to believe the Quibbler more than the Daily Prophet now?” Lucius growled as he observed his son quickly scanning the pages. A little trick he knew his son had learned from the very person the issue was dedicated to.

“So far the Quibbler is accurate on her life and accomplishments” Draco murmured quickly turning the pages until he suddenly froze. “No!” he gasped reading a titbit of information he had not known before. Or rather he had known another version of this information. All fight was leaving his body. He had severely wronged her, probably shattered her heart into pieces. And only because he had believed the Daily Prophet. Why had he believed that rag paper anyway? He couldn’t remember. Why hadn’t he confronted her about it after reading it. He couldn’t remember.

“She didn’t abort it.” he murmured.

“Draco, you can’t talk about such things in front of your son!” Narcissa told him sternly.

He desperately wanted to believe the Quibbler, knowing that Luna had been one of her rare few magical friends. For some reason the two had immediately bonded in Hogwarts. When others had declared the blonde a crazy bint, Harriet had blown up on them and defended her by saying that Lovegood wasn’t crazy. She just had been able to see things clearer than some. Even though her remarks had often seemed strange, the other did have the uncanny ability to cut right through things. Or perhaps they had bonded over being outcasts?

“Your mother is right. And you just believe it, because it is in the Quibbler?” Lucius shook his head. “Both newspapers are more concerned about selling issues than the truth.”

“Perhaps.” Draco mused. “The Muggles did have fact-checking sites at least which fact checked their newspaper’s reported stories.”  Lucius raised an eyebrow quizzingly. He had no idea what his son was talking about. Something that happened more often these days.

“But I know Harry well enough to know that the information given by the Daily Prophet is inaccurate and when it concerns her life, the Quibbler is more reliable. So, when they say that she lost the Baby and was in a coma for almost two weeks, then I believe them.”

“Draco!” Narcissa hissed at him nodding towards Scorpius who played with his breakfast. He wasn’t feeling well today. Normally he would have eaten his breakfast in just a few seconds.

 “Merlin, what the hell happened that she ended up in a coma?!” Draco sighed brushing his hand through his hair.

Narcissa’s sighed. He didn’t listen to her. He never had when it came to his fiery friend. She should have read the signs that Harriet Potter had been more than just a very good friend of her son. She had liked the vivacious girl that her son had befriended, but more than friendship had never even entered her mind for the two of them. A half-blood and a Malfoy was out of the question. But apparently her son had had different ideas.

“And it is consistent with her behaviour at that time. She desperately tried to reach me afterwards, but I was so blinded by anger that I blocked each attempt. And I was married to Astoria by then. With this

information, it makes sense.” Draco took a deep breath to steady himself. Even if he would be able to apologize to her one day, he knew that she wouldn’t be able to forgive him. Her memory never forgot and the pain he must have caused her was probably incurable. She was forever lost to him. And her ordeal at the moment was bound to leave another permanent mark on her. He had seen her at her worst during the second wizarding war where she had almost lost herself once or twice towards the darker side to decimate the Death Eater’s ranks, but she had managed to come back from that. But what if she was now pushed too far into darkness. Who could pull her out from that?

“So, I was right.”  Scorpius grinned tiredly holding his head with his hand and the elbow on the table. Draco frowned at his son. Was he glowing with sweat?

“Am I right?” Scorpius asked with raised eyebrows. Draco turned back towards the Quibbler and leaved through the pages until he found the one detailing and analysing her message. “Let’s find out.” He said putting his son onto his lap who cuddled closer into his father’s arms. The other two Malfoys also stood up and edged closer to them.

“Scorpius was right.” Narcissa murmured hoarsely brushing over her grandson’s fine unruly hair before she stopped.

“Told you so.” He grinned happily.

“You are hot.” She murmured in worry.

“You are hot too, nana.” He answered tiredly grinning sheepishly causing his grandfather to snort. “Grandpa said so.”

Draco’s hand jumped to his son’s front in worry and his heart constricted? Had the doctors been wrong? Was his son going to be next after his mother had died? He quickly stood up hoisting his son up and rushing to the nearest fireplace. He couldn’t lose his son now. His parents followed swiftly behind him.

Within a few seconds he stepped out of the Floo entrance of St. Mungos only to be caught in what he could describe as hectic chaos. The air was heavy with smoke. Mediwitches and Healers, aided by aurors were directing everyone towards the exits. Scorpius winced and snuggled closer to his throat. “Papá, please get me out of here!” he murmured weakly. “So much death!”  He shuddered and Draco was ordered to leave the building immediately. When he tried to protest the Auror ordered him that there was a tent outside which might be able to look at his son. For now, everybody had to leave the building!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looking forward to your comments.


	23. Chapter 23

_„What are you doing here?” James asked his brother-in-law, not entirely understanding what the Muggle wanted here. He made him uneasy. It was Friday evening, and this visit hadn’t been planned. The beefy man, with an ominous brown folder in his hand, had interrupted a joyful evening with drinks, snacks and board games, that had the Marauders brought together again. Well, at least what was left of them. It was a way of relaxation for Alexander after his hard schoolwork and his extensive training with Dumbledore, who occasionally stayed for a round to observe his pupil during the first round of the first game._

_Vernon composed himself and turned towards his ginger sister-in-law. “I came to talk about Harriet with you.”_

_“Why?” She asked with suspicion in her voice. Vernon wasn’t known for his fondness of wizarding folk and yet here he was. A long way from Surrey, in their house on a Friday evening. Dumbledore straightened in his seat, as did the rest of the Marauders, while Alexander quickly snuck a card from the table._

_“Harriet is getting agitated about having to return here in the summer holidays, and it has reached a point which can’t be ignored any longer.” He explained calmly._

_“Young man, what exactly do you mean with ‘she is getting agitated’?” Dumbledore inquired, taking a cautious sip from his teacup._

_“Well, as you probably are all aware, Harriet tends to overthink everything. And I when I say everything, then I mean it. Once a thought strikes, she can’t let go of it. That’s why she already has lost quite a lot of sleep over her fear of returning here. Considering the fiasco of last summer, I’d say those fears are well-founded.”_

_“Sorry, but that fiasco is Harriet’s fault and her fault alone. She was the one who decided that terrorizing unsuspecting children and our party guests were acceptable. We had to deal with the aftermaths for months.” James argued, crossing his arms. “It nearly ostracised us from the Wizarding world.”_

_Vernon’s moustache twitched, his hands clenched, but he swore that he would not lose his temper. After all, he had come here for a purpose, and he would not compromise his long journey by losing his cool._

_“When was the last time you ever said something positive about your own daughter? When did you ever acknowledge her hard work? When was the last time you gave her a birthday present? You are so thick that you can’t see the trees in the woods. Did the situation escalate last summer? Definitely. But it is absolutely understandable as you are neglecting your duty as parents when it comes to your daughter.”_

_“We are neglecting our duty?!” Lily defended herself jumping up. “She can go to that fancy school,…)_

_“On a scholarship, yes.” Vernon nodded, stopping her in his tracks. “Well, technically she has a very demanding patron, who pays for that scholarship, but that’s another story. What I’m saying is that I will not allow another repeat of last year, and I will certainly not allow my niece’s heart to be shattered again during summer. You have no idea what that does to her.” His voice did rise a bit, but after another breath, he was able to get his simmering anger back under control._

_“Mr Dursley, thank you for voicing your concern.” Dumbledore calmly inclined his head. “But I believe that you came with the intention to propose a solution to this issue.”_

_“Of course, I did, or do you think that I drove all this way for nothing.” He shook his head. “As you are clearly having no interest whatsoever in your daughter, and my niece has grown into a close family member, I want you to relinquish your parental rights to Petunia and me. We want to adopt her to make her a permanent member of our family.” He started opening the folder. “I have the paperwork with me. All you have to do is sign this, and we can start the adoption proceedings. You will have to appear in the family court for a formal hearing, but it’s nothing to be worried about.” With slightly trembling hands he put the now open folder down and pulled out a pen from his jacket, praying that this would work._

_“You can’t be serious!” Lily shook her head, leaning back, crossing her arms. “She is my daughter. Adoption, for the reason you suggest, isn’t proper in the Wizarding World. It might probably have worked before the whole birthday fiasco, but now everybody knows that she is our daughter. She’s stuck with us.”_

_“I don’t give a damn about what you consider proper or not. What I do care about is the physical and psychological well fare of my niece and this unresolved issue is detrimental to her development.” Vernon hissed with barely contained disdain. “At least to the correct thing and let your daughter go.”_

_“I’m afraid that this won’t be possible. Mr Dursley.” Dumbledore calmly answered for the Potters. “Alexander and Harriet are magical twins. The blood wards of this estate can only remain this strong to protect the family as long as she comes back home for at least one month to recharge them. The family’s safety depends on this. Another issue that you have overlooked is that Harriet is a talented young witch who will need to attend Hogwarts.”_

_“Well, then you just have to live with this. Harriet stays with us. Besides, she doesn’t WANT to attend your magical school. That she has made clear to us time and time again.” Vernon thundered angrily finally losing his temper. Those Wizards could screw themselves. “There isn’t a book in your precious library that she hasn’t memorized yet, and she has a constant stream of books that get lend to her from another wiz … aham.. families. Considering that she gave you a run for your money using her least favourite godfather’s wand, I’d wager that she could easily pass your exams.”_

_“Hey, that was my wand, she took.” Sirius objected vehemently but was shut up by Remus._

_“I’m sorry to say, but I have to agree with Mr Dursley.” He cut in after some contemplation. “You are so focused on protecting Alexander that you miss Harriet’s suffering. I did tell you that the escalation last summer was a cry for help.”_

_“So, you are siding with him against us?!” James called out, but Remus sighed heavily._

_“James, could you, just this once, stop seeing things black or white? You made me Harriet’s godfather as well. I did promise to do everything in my power to protect her from harm. So, far I have failed spectacularly on that front. Harriet was miserable here. She craved for your love that she never received after Who-know-who’s disappearance. If we neglect just one child in favour of the other, then we are no better than the people we are fighting against.”_

_“Beautifully said,” Dumbledore said with a kind smile._

_“I wasn’t finished yet, Professor,” Remus told him crisply. “Harriet deserves some happiness, and I do remember seeing the photos of her in the Dursley’s home. She was beaming with happiness. You owe her that.”_

_“Thank you.” Vernon nodded thanks towards him. He had expected that Remus might have taken his side. Harriet did like the man after all._

_“That is all very well, but it does not resolve Harriet’s duty to protect her brother. A month is all we ask for.” Dumbledore pointed out._

_“She is almost eight years old. She has NO duty besides learning and being a child.” Vernon bit back. “For you, a month might be nothing, for Harriet, it’s everything. A month away from all her studies and her friends only stalls her progress.”_

_“As you said. She also needs time to be a child. So, this one month can be used to let her be a child.” Dumbledore suggested._

_“Petunia and I are letting her be a child. We make sure that her life doesn’t only consist of studying and training. When she was here you severely neglected her.”_

_“WE NEGLECTED HER?” James jumped up balling his fists. “She has her room upstairs, which is cleaned every day. There’s food in the kitchen, an entire library and she can go to that precious school. That is not neglect.”_

_Vernon shook his head. “What are they teaching you in that magical school to create unable airheads out of you? You are emotionally neglecting her and that is damaging to her psychological well-being. I at least make an effort in reading about child development. You know there are a few books, that might widen your horizon.”_

_James tried to rush forward in anger but was held back by Sirius. Dumbledore stood as well. “That’s enough young man. May I have a word in private with you?” he asked the beefy man._

_“No, old man.” He riposted. “With all due respect, I simply don’t trust you.”_

_“That is perfectly understandable.” Dumbledore inclined his head with a smile. “But I believe things need to calm down a bit until we can continue this discussion.”_

_Vernon balled his fists. “My dispute is not with you, but with my in-laws. And as I do have to drive back today, I want to get this over with.”_

_“Of course.” Dumbledore agreed good-heartedly, stepping closer to him. He moved his hand in front of Vernon’s face who tensed. “You will forget and let go of any plans to adopt Harriet Thea Athena Potter.”_

_“I will forget and let go of any plans to adopt Harriet Thea Athena Potter.” He repeated monotonously with glassy eyes._

_“You will forget that you came here tonight,” Dumbledore ordered and the Muggle repeated it again and left._

_The old wizard sat back down again. Normally, he didn’t like imposing his will onto others like that. Especially, when they were strong-willed like Mr Dursley. But Alexander was the future. He had to protect him, and the wards needed to be charged and the only person able to do this was Harriet Potter. And he wanted to keep a closer eye on her anyway. And he also would need to keep a closer look at Remus, whose gaze had just changed from a surprised one to an angry one._

* * *

It was eerily silent in the emperor’s private meditation chamber. His apprentice still hadn’t been able to deal with the ever-elusive Kiffar Master in the Outer Rim. It seemed that he had more tricks up their sleeve than anticipated. But Quinlan Vos hadn’t exactly been a regular Jedi. His brush with the dark side must have given him insights into this part of the Force which now helped him evade the hunter. According to his sources, this former Master had cost Vader one of his suits. But his apprentice always travelled with a second one. He had full confidence that the Kiffar would soon fall to Vader’s blade. If there was one thing he could count on, then it was that his apprentice never gave up his pursuit of his enemies. Yet the Kiffar also posed a different hazard. One that could cross the emperor’s very own plans if the Force decided to fight him again. Voss could cross paths with the Force disturbance. The intriguing force disturbance he had detected weeks back had been challenging to locate, and the Force certainly had put up a fight to protect her whereabouts. He still was unable to identify her exact location no matter how hard he tried, but he had narrowed it down to somewhere in the Outer Rim Territories. Once or twice, he had detected it flare-up, which had eventually helped him to narrow it down to the Outer Rim Territories. Considering the fact that she had been on Coruscant’s surface close to the heart of the imperial centre he suspected that the individual was hiding among his imperial ranks already. Fifteen fleets were currently operating in the systems he suspected her to be, six of which had had personal that had been at the imperial centre in the correct time frame and were now in the Outer Rim. That were too many people to plough through. He had only been able to connect with that individual once by sheer luck. She had been terrified, yet mastered masking her presence somehow, fighting his attempts to locate her, which told him that she was somewhat trained, but he didn’t know to what extent and by whom. It couldn’t have been a weak Jedi or a Nightsister otherwise he would have already found her as he knew all their pathetic tricks. The Force had shown him the dark outline of a faceless young female wearing an imperial naval uniform but unfortunately not her rank. She had potential. Huge potential. Potential that he wanted to have in his grasp before any other trained Force user could get his claws onto her. He had hoped for a few more slips of her powers, but to his dismay there were none. So, she had to have better control than his current apprentice, or she was getting better at controlling them. But that could imply that she had somebody tutoring her already and that implication was the most dangerous of all.

* * *

She sluggishly followed the tense conversation between Thrawn, Governor Pryce and Agent Kallus as she was standing stiffly next to the sitting Chiss. Her head was pounding mercilessly, cold shivers were running down her aching back and she swore that she could detect smoke in her nostrils, but there was none. She wished that she could return to her quarters at the Chimera and curl down at her cot and sleep it all away. It seemed that she had caught a cold or a virus somewhere and her body was fighting it off. Pryce arrogant high voice started to seriously grate on her nerves as it didn’t make her headache any better. Kallus and Thrawn’s deep calm voices were a balm next to the governor’s voice.

“I do not see how your personal visit to Ryloth should help our Rebel Problem in the Lothal Sector?” Pryce argued and Harry winced at the high pitches of her voice earning her another side-glance from Agent Kallus. The blue-skinned Commander had informed the governor minutes earlier that he would depart to the Ryloth sector, much to the protest of that irritating woman. Agent Kallus, however, had had a strange gleam in his eyes for a heartbeat, that she couldn’t place. She had sensed his determination but couldn’t place it. A second later it was gone, and Harry wondered if she had just imagined it like the inexistent smoke right now.

“The Ryloth sector is not our responsibility.” She beseeched him and Harry wondered how that woman had been able to become governor if she wasn’t able to see the whole picture. Rumour had it that she had Tarkin’s favour.

“Hera Syndulla is from the Ryloth sector.” Kallus cut in. “The Phoenix Squadron has worked with the Rebel Cell from Ryloth before, so it is possible that they are working more closely together. Considering that Cham Syndulla escaped from the confrontation with our elite task force and hasn’t been caught yet and his family home in the Tann Province is still intact, they might be using it to smuggle weapons through it.”

“As of yet, the entire province hasn’t been able to be taken over by the empire.” Thrawn acknowledged with a nod. “No matter how hard they tried which gives me the perfect opportunity to conduct an experiment to test a theory on the Rebels behaviour.”

“An experiment?” Kallus enquired with open curiosity. “What kind of experiment?” Harry had to give him credit, as she could pick up on his slightly rising anxiety. He wasn’t as calm as he appeared to be. His outward appearance showed nothing of his inner turmoil. Does he worry?! Followed by a touch of shame? Harry reminded herself to change her gaze towards Pryce again or she might appear creepy to Kallus if her gaze lingered too long at him. _Does Kallus have a Twi’lek lover on Ryloth?_ It could certainly explain his unease. He might worry about her or him?  She certainly wouldn’t put it past him. After all, she had heard the rumours of the raunchy Twi’lek healing baths on Ryloth were primarily frequented by male imperials nowadays.

“Not to worry, Agent Kallus,” Thrawn replied evenly. “Merely, a behaviouristic experiment to test my theory on our Rebels behaviour.” Harry frowned. How had Thrawn seen that Kallus had been worried? Had she not felt it, then she would never have detected his concern, or had she been too preoccupied with her pounding head that she had missed a micro-expression?

“You want to take over this province without taking your capital ship with you?” Pryce shook her head.

“I won’t need a Star Destroyer to take the province,” Thrawn assured her calmly.

“No, I will merely assist Captain Slawin to reach this goal while, the sevenths fleet under Commander Faro’s watchful command will remain at Lothal at your disposal,” Thrawn informed her and Harry shuddered at the idea that Pryce had the entire fleet at her disposal. The last thing they needed was another Batonn incident.

Luckily, Faro was the no-nonsense Fleet Commander under Thrawn who had his full confidence. So, any big casualties should be kept to a minimum.  

* * *

“Hr'ae qoututlnidae qoaue chojachê huti tuxêi qoaue lêatluni hêou Pryce huae chaxêtlieeajae” (=You disapprove of my decision to leave my fleet at Pryce’s disposal.) Thrawn stated in Minnisiat with smoothly modulated voice as they made their way to the hangar bay.

Her Minnisiat was still a bit shaky and whenever the vocabulary failed her, she tended to switch into Sy Bisti. The Chiss beside her had suggested continuing her lesson on the flight back to his capital ship. She was finally going back to the Chimera for a few hours and even though she had never thought it possible to think like that, her quarters had become some sort of sanctuary to her, but now to wrap her sluggish mind and her tongue around the words and the unfamiliar grammar when all she wanted was some sleep wasn’t ideal to her.

“Qoae fwnochae hr'ae hêu'qou xêjae tue hêoxêi huti maie, Xêasêinie (=I believe you already know the answer to that, Sir.)” She told him flatly. “Pryce hoxêma hu hesei- fwtuxêie  ahm…(=Pryce is a first class…=… Fwaue zunuxêi psychopath xêalsazae hosê Qoassaxêauma? (=What does psychopath mean in Minnisiat?)”  she enquired.

“Tl'xêafwitlumie” Thrawn supplied patiently.

“Tl'xêafwitlumie” she repeated trying to wrap her mind around the word.

“No, Tl'xêafwitlumie” Thrawn corrected her pronunciation.

After a few more false starts she finally managed it. That language would be the death of her. And he had told her that only when she’d mastered this one, would he introduce her to Cheung. His native tongue.

“Fwuêe hoti fwaue Qoae tl'ihruxêi hr'achê maue qouttlnifwxêa'qoue, zêae hoxêma mema hodtalo maie lêae tl'ihruxêi fwufieeie husimmêe Batonn hizajae xêou zêae mêottlae lêasê haslo. Fwaou tue zin'qoie Nolusmie, Ryder Azadi hoxêma xêos'qoihrue xêeni tue hottuxêi lêae qouêe chaxêxêtlojalo nou huti tl'tae chnuxêmafwi qooeeeni huti fwutlmae tasê noou. Puni lêasê maie hoxêma tl'onxêisie.”

(=“And from what I could see so far, it is entirely possible that she could cause another Batonn situation if it helps her case. As the former Governor, Ryder Azadi is still on the loose she might resort to more drastic measures to catch him again. For her that’s personal.”)  

Thrawn regarded her calmly with a side glance before he focused his attention on the shuttle ramp they were entering. “Hodti.” (=Perhaps)

With the ramp closing and the shuttle departing he continued: “Pryce hoxêma fwiszacho'qoue maie lêae mêuhralo qouttlnifwxêa'qoou chou Batonn fwuêe lêae qouêe hoxêma chofwxêmnue. Xêochê lêae hoxêma husfwufie xêjae chou sou seni qoaue xêexêtlofwma, xêochê maie chou Fwitisoti Yularen. Hesei maue hifwueeuêêie xêeni lêasê hidxêonhrae qouêe hutlonae hifwueeie. Hu xêofweschie hesei moxêmu'qoosma zunazêi xêexêtlofwmo'qou.”

(=Pryce is confident that she got away with Batonn and she might be right. But she is also aware of not only my suspicion but that of Colonel Yularen. One such incident on her watch might appear accidental. A second one would become suspicious.”)

 He lectured her while Harry shortly closed her eyes trying to block out the pounding of her head. But she couldn’t keep her grin at bay at Thrawn’s statement. “With all due respect, but I believe you are giving Pryce too much credit.” She switched back to basic.

“Am I now?” Thrawn asked with slight amusement in his voice also falling back into Basic.

“Yes.” Harry told him. “Pryce got away with it once and as per your orders I’m still trying to find a way to prove it, but she won’t think about it as much as you do. She is more straightforward. Got away with it once, she gets away with it again. Especially, with Tarkin as her patron. As long as Lothal supplies the Empire with whatever it needs, she is untouchable. That’s politics in action for you.”

“Mh, I see.” He told her, still a hint of amusement in his voice. “Lt. Commander Vanto briefed you well on matters of politics.”

“Tae qouêe mêuhr'o chani qoae maie tue qouttilafwue tudiniêe chou xêuzêi hoxêma hu hosdelêuÿê chou hu Achilles fwutfwusie puni hr'ae.” She told him.

(=He may have told me that the illogical workings of politics are a bit of an Achilles heel for you.)

“Achilles heel?” Thrawn asked her.

“Hu _Achilles_ fwutfwusie hoxêma hu qoutzinmoja hosê xêtlamou paeêe xêetloni zinmojie, fwaei tl'ihruxêi fwischefwae huti zutolo. Che'qou tue qoamitilaue chohrosê mensae xêasê huti hu zaeeafwi _vulnerability_ , _idiomatic_ hutechie huti hutae hojie hufie hojie maie tl'ihruxêi fwischefwae huti zutolo hoxêma fwi'qoesê.” She explained.

(=An Achilles heel is a weakness in spite of overall strength, which can lead to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, idiomatic references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to downfall are common.)

“Can'russ'ah.” Thrawn murmured sending shivers down her back or perhaps it was just the fever rising. “I shall endeavour to remember that.”

Harry frowned. The word had sounded so natural to Thrawn. Had that been a Cheung word? It had to be.

“What does ‘Can’russ’ah’ mean?” she inquired hoping not to butcher the pronunciation. “That was a word from your mother tongue, wasn’t it?”

“Indeed.” Thrawn acknowledged. “It means ‘fascinating’.”

“Speaking of fascinating.”  Harry changed the topic. “Did you come to a decision about the expedition to Bahryn. I mean Agent Kallus, reports are usually quite detailed, but the one about this moon stands out due to its vagueness and as Admiral Konstantine never recovered the escape pod. So, there might be some things that just slipped under the radar.”

“Admittedly, I did not yet have much time to ponder about it.” he told her smoothly and Harry winced. After all she had suggested it on a whim after he had informed her that he had waived her shore leave for the next five years. It had seemed like a good idea to go on a mission to prove herself to him. But it seemed that he had seen right through it. She should have used a less obvious approach.

“Bahryn is not a priority at the moment.” He told her calmly.  “Even though I do recognize its appeal to you. Yet, you are currently not in any condition to see such a mission through. As soon as we land you are ordered to report and to be confined to the Med Bay until the Chief Medical officer clears you.”

She mentally scoffed. What she had wanted right now had been her cot in her quarters, not the Med Bay, but knowing Thrawn she wouldn’t get out of this. And his absence could give her an opportunity to suggest a mission to Bahryn to Faro. Perhaps she was more inclined to allow it. Ideally taking Longbottom’s squad with her. Three wizards were better than one. But all of that went out of the window if she was ‘confined’ to the Med Bay. She mentally growled. Thrawn’s request for her to go to the Med Bay was perfectly reasonable. The last thing he needed was the outbreak of an illness on his Star Destroyer, and yet…

* * *

Stepping across uneven rubble, meandering through masses of people in search of medi-witch or healers taking a look at his son wasn’t easy. Scorpius was writhing in his grasp begging him to get him away of here. Smoke was in the air, people were screaming for other people, commands were shouted over his head. In other words, it was chaotic. Something bad had happened here in St. Mungo’s. His parents also had unsuccessfully returned from their search for the two healers familiar with their familiar history informing him about a new triage system that St. Mungos had just implemented to treat everybody.  He needed help for Scorpius. He couldn’t lose him as well. Aurors! Tonks! Perhaps she could help. He called out to her and luckily got her attention.

“What in Merlin’s name are you doing here?!” she enquired shouting at him over the blazing noise.

“Scorpius has a fever and I need somebody to take a look at him. I don’t want him to … you know like his mother.” He tried to explain hoarsely.

Tonks regarded her with pity in her eyes. “There is no way that any healer is free to take a look at him right now. We are still trying to find people who survived the blaze.”

His heart sunk. A blaze! In St. Mungos?! Tonks snapped her fingers in front of his face to get his attention. “Ok, look. Does Scorpius display the same symptoms as Astoria?” she asked staring him in his eyes and he shook his head.

“No, Astoria never had any fever.”

“Is there anyone else he had contact with besides you, your parents or my family?” she asked, and he shook his head again.

“Well, then take him to a Muggle hospital. Teddy was complaining about soreness and slight fever a few days ago, but luckily, he is vaccinated against influenza. Scorpius isn’t, am I right.” She put her head to the side.

He had no idea what she meant about vaccination, so he shook his head again.

“He probably caught the virus when he came borrowing Teddy’s encyclopaedia. Take him to a Muggle hospital.” She ordered him. “Empire or not, they can help him.”

“But we don’t know any Muggle hospital.” Lucius cut in sneering at the idea of taking his grandson to a Muggle facility.

Tonks sighed dramatically. “Alright, take him to the University Hospital of Wales, Heath Park Way in Cardiff. They are fantastic. Saved Teddy’s godmother. Now, if you excuse me, I’ve work to do. Good Luck.” With that, she turned around and quickly followed other Aurors into the building.

* * *

She was floating. Well, she knew that she wasn’t really floating, but it did feel like it. Whatever the Chief Medical officer had hit her with was strong. She currently felt no pain which was good, but he was happy to finally have a mystery that he was eager to solve. They had no clue whatsoever what the source of her fever was. She didn’t carry any virus in her blood system, no bacteria, which could cause her current symptoms. He had then proceeded to test her for toxins which had also come back negative. She had been forced to slip out of her uniform and was now lying in medical scrubs in a medical cot. When the chief medical officer had detected her jewellery under her uniform, he had told her to put it away, yet she had refused. It protected her from discovery from that dark entity that was searching for her and she had no desire to be detected. This darkness felt malicious, dangerous and all-consuming and she knew she didn’t have the strength right now to fend it off. After a few tests, he had luckily relented and let her wear her necklace murmuring something about religious nutcases under his breath. Well, he wasn’t that far off. After all her necklace spotted the same symbol as her wristband. For some in the Wizarding World, the symbol was as important as other religious symbols. She, however, would make sure that the things it stood for would die with her. They were her charge, her inheritance. Her brother and everyone else might think that she destroyed it after duelling against him, but unfortunately even she had not managed to do it. She was its master now and there was nothing she could do about it, besides making sure that nobody else would ever get their hands on these three things. And she didn’t want to use any of the three things as they made her sick using them. The three brothers, she had summoned in her desperation back then had assured her that they would lose their power once she had died without them falling into other hands.

There was a familiar voice in her close vicinity. It seemed that the Chief Medical officer reported his initial findings to Thrawn. She mentally groaned. Why? Ok, yes, he was her superior, but she felt a bit like under the looking glass. He was already studying her notebooks; her drawings and it did unnerve her. Did he have access to her social media accounts as well? They were practically a digital book and… she drifted off…

“Get me out of here!” She heard somebody whimper. The voice sounded like… Scorpius. Was he in pain?! She tensed. The urge to look for him was strong. Haze was surrounding her. A fog that burned her lungs. She coughed.

“Help me!” came from somewhere behind her. She spun around. Couldn’t see. She wanted to protect him. She needed to protect him.

“Scorpius!” she called out to him. Debris lying on the foggy ground nearly dripped her up, but she managed to stay on foot. The smell of burned rubber, smoke and oil were invading her senses. Sirens could be heard from all around her together with the terrified screams of the outlines and shades of people around her.

 

“Scorpius” She called out again spinning around, squinting her eyes. He needed protection. Her heart ached at that thought. It felt as if it was trying to jump out of her chest. Where was he?

“Mama!” she heard Scorpius cry out for her again and her heart almost burst. “He was trying to reach his mother. Astoria. His mother was dead. Why he was connecting with her was a mystery to him, but she couldn’t stop the overwhelming love that was spreading through her entire body. Every fibre of her body was trying to find him, protect him and tell him that all would be fine. Somehow magic was trying to connect him to her. She had a familiar nagging sensation in the back of her mind, but she ignored it. He needed her help. She wished that she could take his pain away.

“Scorpius!” she called out to him again. More forcefully this time.” There the fog became lighter and she could spot the familiar boy, who seemed relieved when he spotted her. He looked exhausted, but his smile grew when he locked his gaze with her. Quickly she stretched out her hands to take them, to reassure him and…

* * *

She woke up with a jolt, breathing hard, trying to sit up, the scrubs clinging to her body. Had she been sweating that much? Was her fever gone? A cold hand was pushing her back down.

“She is definitely not simulating.” She heard the Chief Medic’s voice but was too weak to open her eyes.

“And you still don’t know what’s causing it?” that was Thrawn’s voice, yet with the vibrating sound accompanying it, she assumed that he was already been on his way to Ryloth.

“Negative, Sir. My best guess is some sort of allergy, but as of now, I can’t confirm it, Sir.”

She knew that it wasn’t an allergy. She had no idea how she knew but she did. She drifted off again while the conversation continued at the periphery of her awareness. 

 

 

 

 


	24. Dream or Reality?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you are all healthy and safe during these trying times.
> 
> As there are tons of misinformation around right now, I list a few reputable sources in the English language that I use to stay informed, perhaps this might help some of you:
> 
> 1.) World Health Organization (WHO)  
> 2.) Robert Koch Institute  
> 3.) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  
> 4.) Medmastery (also Channel on Youtube).  
> [5.) Doctor Mike (who basically just uses the WHO and the CDC as sources and breaks it down so that normal people can understand it.)]

Chapter 24

_Soft steps could be heard. Somebody was cautiously stepping down the worn wooden steps descending into the deep cellar paved with a cement floor with mildew cracks snaking across it. Draco working on another potion at the opposite side of the table perked up while Snape observed their work with hawk-like precision. Harriet added the Alihotsy leaves to her potion and carefully let out her breath which she had held in anticipation. Her potion slowly turned orange, just like it was supposed to be._

_"_ _Mother!" Draco greeted her affectionately and almost spilt his porcupine quill into her potion. "Oi, careful, Draco." Harry quickly caught it to prevent any calamity. The last thing they needed was to blow up Snape's personal, private laboratory at home._

 _"_ _Ms Potter is correct Draco." Snape drawled. "That porcupine quill could have devastated her Potio refectionis. Do not get distracted by your mother."_

 _"_ _Sorry." He murmured, throwing his mother a sheepish grin, which she affectionally returned._

 _"_ _I'm sorry, Severus. I know I'm early to pick Draco up, but I just wanted to see his progress personally." She told him._

 _"_ _So, you don't trust my judgement on that." He stated wryly turning back towards the blond boy, but Harry could spot a barely noticeable gleam in Snape's eye that told her that he was baiting Mrs Malfoy. She did a double-take. He was jesting. The big oversized bat was making a fool on Mrs Malfoy's behalf._

 _"_ _No, I do trust your judgement on that, but second-year potions at his age is just something that I wanted to see for myself. I couldn't believe it when Draco told me." She beseeched him._

 _"_ _We began second year's potions with Draco today. That is correct. If I had at least a handful of students like him or Ms Potter, then I'd be blessed indeed." Snape concurred._

 _"_ _Nous sommes un baume sur son cœur lourd."(=We are a balm on his heavy heart.) Harriet winked putting her right hand over her heart, causing Draco to snort before he could stop himself._

 _"_ _Seulement dans tes rêves, jeune femme," Snape responded dryly setting off the two young children as they burst into laughter. She had no idea that Snape understood French. So, had he known all of their banter. Ups._

 _"_ _See that's what I have to put up with if I teach both of them at the same time." he nodded in their direction._

* * *

Neville groaned. He was exhausted. Not only had he been on mind-numbing patrol duty, but his squad leader had forced extra training sessions afterwards. And those sessions were brutal. Due to his training in the Imperial Army, he was used to it by now, but what his superior put them through was a whole new level. He wanted to show up other squad leaders, and that meant constant exercise. Now, just as he came back to his cot from a much-needed shower, he was informed that he had to report to Med bay, together with Colin and Seamus. So, something was up, and that meant that he had to postpone his mirror call with his grandmother again, but he took the little mirror with him, just in case.

"Why do you think it's just us three who have to report to Med Bay and none of the others of our squad?" Colin asked nervously wringing his hands behind his back, and Neville had to calm himself from losing his temper.

"For the third time, Colin, I. don't . know." he ground out. "They didn't tell me, but I find it a bit suspicious that it is just us three Earthlings."

"Perhaps Potter squawked to save her own skin," Seamus suggested, and Neville shook his head.

"Doubtful, she may be a wild card, but the secrecy of you know what protects her just as much as her." He argued. Neville sighed as he felt the lift stop and open to the Med Bay.

"Troopers LS-2085, 2086 and 2087 reporting as requested." he took the lead addressing the greying medical officer, who appeared tense.

"Thank you for coming troopers." The Chief Medical Officer greeted them with a weary look on his face. "Admiral Thrawn suggested that you are somewhat familiar with Lt. Potter and her family?" he inquired.

He frowned. "Yes, we know her from association. I'm the one with more personal knowledge about her family." Neville stated. "May I ask what this is about?"

"You may, Trooper." The officer said with a heavy sigh and gestured towards a closed-off section of the deck. Neville cursed under his breath when he recognized the familiar unruly Potter hair on the daybed. "It pains me to admit, but I'm out of my depth. She has a high fever that we are struggling to get down, no virus, bacteria, toxins or allergies are causing it. The only possibility that is left is perhaps a genetic predisposition that can give her bouts of fever. Her DNA, however, doesn't suggest such a disability."

Neville shook his head. "No. I've known her family for as long as I can remember. None of them had what you described, Sir and her family is known to be one of the healthier ones in our wo…ahm…community."

Now it was on the Medical Officer to swear. "Tell me, trooper, what does the word _Scorpius_ mean in your language? She keeps uttering it."

Neville's eyes widened processing the information.

"It's a star constellation seen from our planet," Colin explained eagerly with an equal worried glance at their fellow wizard.

"Well, technically it's the Latin term for predatory arachnids. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping pedipalps and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger." Seamus supplied with an equally eager grin drawing the creature in the air. "I mean she was down on the surface. Perhaps they have similar species, and she got stung by one."

The medical officer nodded at him, rubbing his chin. "That's a possibility. We did check for entry wounds. Perhaps we missed something."

"We-certainly-did-not." The medical droid interrupted him swiftly.

"There's only one problem," Neville remarked, "You found no toxins in her system and Scorpions are often poisonous." Telling the Medical officer that Scorpius could also be a name was on the tip of his tongue, but he stopped himself in the nick of time. She had told him that she somehow had a connection to Malfoy's son. What if it wasn't her that was ill? Perhaps something else was causing this? He had to get in contact with his grandmother. Fast. His hand itched towards his pocket.

"Can I talk to her, Sir?" Neville asked tentatively.

The medic snorted gesturing towards her. "Be my guest. The last thing I need is the Grand Admiral's personal aide dying on my watch. He's already breathing down my neck and isn't even in the system."

Longbottom quickly crouched closer to her and frowned. Why was she wearing a bracelet with the deathly hollows? Hold on, she also wore a simple necklace with the same symbol and one additional one carrying a potently charged rune, that he recognized as warding off evil spirits or instead protecting the wearer from being found by dark entities? Was she fighting against a sinister entity? Was this the reason why she was weak? Perhaps it wasn't Scorpius that was the problem. Maybe she was being attacked.

"Hey, Potter". Neville whispered carefully stepping closer to her. Her complexion had turned pallid with cold sweat coating her face, her dark hair was an unruly nest sticking in pretty much every direction.

Harry groggily locked her glassy eyes with him, the sweat of pearls on her glistening front. "Scorpius is unwell," she whispered hoarsely casting a vary glance towards the medical officer who had turned away from them to read something on a nearby panel. "He is in danger."

"Come again," he asked attentively, stepping closer to her. So, it was Scorpius? That connection became stranger by the second.

"Something is wrong with Scorpius," she repeated weakly, not able to find the strength to raise her voice or her head or any of her limps. "You need to warn … them."

"Don't worry. I'll look into it." he promised. Her face contorted for a second. "Potter?!" he asked quickly, but she didn't react to him.

"Potter, Harry!" he repeated again, more forcefully, touching her hand. It had an effect, yet not one that he had anticipated. "It's searching again." she murmured weakly.

"What is?" he reluctantly drew his gaze away from her face towards her necklace, whose rune shortly flared up. "The darkness." he heard her whisper.

"What darkness?" he inquired wearily. Was she hallucinating? She seemed to be hallucinating, but what about that rune? Perhaps it had been a trick of the light? "Potter, come on…"

* * *

She could hear that he was speaking more, tapping her hand, but she drifted off again.

The familiar darkness was encircling her again. She had to find her way out of here. It was dangerous. A pitch-black fog trying to capture her. Scorpius depended on her escape. She knew it. But it became denser. Thicker. Clinging to her. It was hard to breathe. The mist tried to suffocate her. She stumbled over something and shrieked as she fell and landed on her back, something hard, knocking the breath out of her lungs. She had to remain calm, couldn't lose focus. She needed to get out of here. There were dark shadowy outlines of a large hall.

 _Calm yourself!_ A baritone voice reached out to her. It was a calm voice, but not calm enough. That fog was drowning her. Killing her. Slowly.

 _Find your centre_ , _find the light within you_ the voice reached out to her again. Her centre! What?! How? She had no form. She was lost. She was… No, she wasn't alone. The calming presence was somewhere nearby. She could sense it. No, it seemed to come from everywhere around her. Was this a trick? She had to be hallucinating. Harry closed her eyes. He had told her to find her centre, she had no idea where her centre was, but perhaps if she imagined it, she could picture it. The last thing she could remember was that she had drifted off again. So, this had to be a dream. So, she basically closed her eyes in her dream.

 _This isn't real,_ she said wishing the fog to go away, but it felt real. Harry cast out her mind feeling the other's amusement. This entity was benevolent towards her? It felt like a balm against the darkness trying to reach her.

 _Reality can take many forms_ the baritone voice answered her and then she felt it. He was part of the light! How was that possible?! She had lost it.

 _No, there is one reality, but everyone has a different perception of that reality,_ _making them believe that there is more than one reality._ She countered still searching. Focusing on his presence. The light felt warm, inviting, peaceful and…? Yet there was a storm raging at the periphery of her awareness. A dark and malevolent tornado threatening to devour every living thing. The fog was part of that tornado.

 _One's perception can still create different realities for everyone. Good, don't lose focus_. _Concentrate_. The voice urged. Harry stepped closer towards it. She could feel the steady current of the light engulf her, caressing her like a long-lost friend. She knew that light. It felt familiar, welcoming, tingling. She was pretty sure that she had to be high on something. But what a trip that was. Her gaze was drawn to the voice again. She couldn't see him, only the outline of a tall man with long hair in a tunic and a robe. That was some progress at least.

_The Living Force connects everything in the universe, every living thing is intertwined with each other. Yet some beings can share a deeper understanding of the world._

She sighed in understanding. What he said resonated deeply within her. It felt correct. _The Force? You're a Jedi!_ Her heart accelerated _._ She was talking to a Jedi! No, it couldn't be. Could it? This was her chance to find out more about his order. Perhaps some truth that the empire had hidden by rewriting history. She had so many questions but didn't know where to begin, and although she wanted to blab them all out, she understood that they weren't important right now. So, she kept quiet. Or this was just another hallucination. It had to be.

 _A lifetime ago, yes, I was_. He told her _. Now I'm part of the Force, who exists in two forms: The Living Force and the Cosmic Force. The Living Force represents the energies of all lifeforms, and those energies are fed into the Cosmic Force which is responsible for binding the galaxy together and communicating the will of the Force. Because of this Force sensitives can feel disturbances in the Force whenever there is a significant loss of life._

She gulped, remembering the utter terror and coldness she had felt in the Academy which she now knew to have been Baton. _Batonn_ , she whispered in sorrow.

 _Yes, for you to have felt it from so far away shows that you are strong in the Force._ the voice told her, radiating understanding. She swallowed hard fighting back tears.

 _It's a curse._ she ground out dejectedly. _All that death_. _Why am I only feeling all that death since the Empire attacked my planet?_ Her heart constricted; it became hard to breathe again. _Washington, Berlin, Beijing and Moscow. So many people died when those cities were almost wiped from existence. Batonn. It tore through my entire being. As if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. So much life lost. So many possibilities, chances that were taken from them. Their cries and voices…_ she drew in a breath _._ She couldn't lose control now _. Reverberating echoes of the pain, terror, and suffering of the people who had lost their lives. Why did I have to feel that? We fought back against the empire. Downed their fleet. And with that, I doomed them all._

The voice was silent, yet she still could feel his presence. She felt an invisible touch of a large hand on her right shoulder. _Calm yourself. What has happened was not your fault._

 _Yes, it was._ she shot back clenching her fists. _It was my idea to defend ourselves against the first fleet, that was holding our planet hostage. It was my company's technology combined with other tech companies and military operations from around the world to down that fleet. We should have realized that it would doom all those cities._

 _Would those operations still have continued without your involvement?_ the voice asked her. She nodded. _Probably, yes._

 _What you are describing sounds like a wound in the Force_. he explained. _Wounds in the Force are created whenever a massive loss of life occurs. All life in is interconnected and when a significant number of lives are suddenly ended, the Force sustains a localized injury much like a sentient who had lost a limp. The epicentre of that wound becomes a dark place, filled with the reverberating echoes of the pain, terror, and suffering of the life forms who had lost their lives. They course through the Force like a scream that only Force-adepts, such as yourself, can hear._

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks. _But I'm only a witch. Not a Jedi. Why do I feel them?_

_You are strong in the Force, yet you never were properly trained. Magic is just one supernatural technique that allows a practitioner to wield great powers connected to the Force._

Harry wanted to protest. Magic was complicated and it certainly wasn't just one supernatural technique. There were dozens of different techniques. _It can't be just one technique._

_It is. The technique may vary within, but the use of the Force remains the same. You are untrained in any other use of the Force and yet you are instinctively relying on it. Using it. You are creating small unique waves in the Force, that can be detected by other Force users if they are listening._

Her breath hitched. She must have attracted that dark entity searching for her! _Is that how you found me?_

 _Yes._ The man answered her calmly. _The capital ship you are on is current present near a focal point of the Force, which did assist me as well._

 _Harry frowned. But I used a protective rune to mask my presence_. she wondered. _It shouldn't have been possible to find me._

There was that warm amusement again. _You are concealing your presence, yes, but your actions using the Force can be detected. As I said. You are untrained. Would you have been born in the Republic, then you would have been brought to the Jedi Order and been trained properly._

Harry shuddered. On the one hand, all her earlier questions about the Jedi Order came back to her, but again she didn't dare to ask them. But on the other hand, she assumed that somehow, she must have been lucky not to have been born in the Republic. _Then I'd be dead right now. There aren't many Jedi left and if the Inquisitors find me..._

_Not if you learn to conceal yourself. There are still enough Jedi. There is hope for you still. You must learn to control your emotions, to calm your mind._

* * *

"Blimey, I have no idea what she's doing, but I'm startin' to freak out," Seamus whispered towards his colleague wishing that Neville would hurry up with his conversation. "Not sure if I can hold that cloaking spell for much longer."

"Hey, you've got the easy part. Imagine holding the Imperious without a wand" Colin muttered gritting his teeth. "Why what's she doing?" casting a hectic glance backwards.

"She's floating," Seamus mumbled under his breath. "Not much, but enough to be concerned."

What?! Then add a sticking charm." Colin suggested raising his voice a bit, causing Seamus to groan.

"Sure, why not? Because casting to spells without my wand is soo easy. What was the spell again?"

"Epoximise". Colin grumbled, patting him on the back. "Just don't blow anything up."

"I haven't blown anything up in years." he hissed back in agitation casting the additional spell and flinched.

Behind them, the Med-droid whirred, smoked and rattled and a few moments later, fell apart, still sizzling.

"You were saying?" Colin remarked dryly.

* * *

"So, what you are saying is that she has fallen ill and there is no indication to why?" Kingsley repeated sitting at his office desk with Augusta opposite to him. Both were talking towards the communication mirror on his wall. Longbottom was standing in a dark corner occasionally glancing at something out of their visual area.

"Exactly. She is feverish, clearly hallucinating and the others have trouble hiding her bouts of magic right now. I mean she is floating slightly. Not much, just half a centimetre, but that can still be too dangerous if they see it." he whispered hastily. "It could compromise everything."

"She keeps uttering the name Scorpius and when I talked to her earlier, she was convinced that he was unwell or in danger somehow. Do you have any idea what could be going on?"

He saw Augusta shaking her head. They had agreed that they wouldn't speak of their suspicion if they didn't have evidence for it. But her grandson did appear to be desperate. "The Malfoy's were seen with their youngest heir Scorpius at St. Mungo's yesterday." That much he decided to disclose. "I saw Tonks sending them to a Muggle hospital due to the circumstances."

"What circumstances?" Longbottom inquired impatiently. "I mean come one, stop beating around the bush. This is serious, Minister!"

"I understand perfectly, Mr. Longbottom and I will immediately send someone to the Malfoys to find out more, but you will have to stay patient a little bit longer."

The young man growled in anger. "Send somebody to the Malfoys and tell them to give him something to get the fever down. We need a lucid, fully functioning Harriet Potter and not one that loses control of her powers. Especially not now. Now get a move on!" With that, he ended their conversation.

He quickly sent an interdepartmental memo to Tonks sending her to inform the Malfoys about finding out more about the child's condition and report back to him.

"You didn't tell him about what happened to his parents." he finally remarked at a blurry-eyed Augusta.

"Neville is dealing with enough right now. Burden him with the knowledge that the empire took his parents to Merlin knows where wouldn't help him at all." she quickly dried her tears with her handkerchief. "I have nobody in the Muggle World who could find out anything about their current whereabouts and that wonderfully brilliant new law that your fearful Purebloods in the Wizengamot have cooked up hinders any progress." she spat standing up. "I'm not getting younger and this separation will make us lose everything that we hold dear."

"Augusta, that law was not my doing." he pleaded. "I'm working towards undoing it and I have agents who try to make contact with the Muggle's resistance, but they have no idea where to begin."

"Then get one!" she snarled angrily and slamming the door behind her. _Great!_ Today was not his day.

* * *

A moment later a few house-elves of the cleaning squad made themselves known to tell him about their currently two least favourite Aurors.

They informed him sourly with high-pitched voices, that his two Clobberfield and Winston had come from St. Mungo's reeking after smoke, bile and grime, but hadn't allowed anyone in to clean their offices and had stayed in there working through the entire night. So, he was curious about any new developments. They surely wouldn't require even more secrecy if there wasn't some new development. And he desperately needed some good news.

"Judging by the state of your clothes, you must have come directly from St. Mungos," Kingsley stated entering their office doors with raised eyebrows at his two investigators quickly tried to brush off ash from their clothes at hearing his voice. Scourgify had apparently not been enough.

"Not quite, Sir. St. Mungo's in fire had to take precedence, and it really was all hands on deck" Clobberfield explained taking another glance at a strange box sitting on his desk. Another box connected to the first rattled and shook, spitting out what looked like paper.

"Well, when we were informed that a fire had broken out in St. Mungo's, we wanted to offer our help. That they have lost their patient's archives in the blast is disheartening." his partner Winston clarified taking the stacks of paper off the rattling box, clipping it together.

"Not, to say dangerous for their patients." Kingsley nodded dejectedly wondering why they thought about the archives first and the patients second. That was quite unlike the two diligent Aurors.

"But as you probably know two simultaneous small blasts destroyed other offices and also one of our two healers," Winston told him taking off his horned glasses to clear them.

"Very convenient and technically not possible." his partner clarified.

"You believe that somebody purposely started the fire?" the minister asked narrowing his eyes. He knew already that the fire hadn't been an accident but perhaps these two had a different take on things.

"Well, as you are undoubtedly aware. That was the verdict of the Auror's on scene. The pyro-experts are still trying to find out about the source, but their first verdict concurs with our colleagues.

"That doesn't mean that your case and the fire are related." Kingsley mused but Auror's always considered their case first.

"That's right." Clobberfield nodded sitting back down at his chair and lifted his index finger. "But as it happened, we did have an appointment today. It's highly suspicious that the day before the healers planned to give all their medical data about Astoria Malfoy over to our investigation, their archives go up in flames, together with their offices.

Kingsley sighed verily. Yes, it did sound suspicious "It could still be an unfortunate coincidence. Can the healers recall what was in those files?"

"No, one of the healers died in the blast and the second managed to hand us this stick before passing out." Clobberfield pointed towards a USB stick sticking out from the box on the desk. "but we had no idea what exactly this was. Some Muggle device that we didn't know yet. She murmured that they had saved everything on there. So, we went to the Ministry's expert on Muggle technology in Surrey, and he identified it as a USB flash drive, which could store large amounts of information.

Kingsley's eyes widened. Now that was interesting news. Augusta was right. They did miss out on a lot of things.

"And yes Minister, we are aware of the law that we can't be in contact with any Muggles and more, but with all due respect, I rather prefer to solve this case than leave it as a cold case," Winston added acidly in their defence, but he just brushed it off with a shrug. "I won't complain about that. So, we might have the exact copies of those files on there?" he clasped his hands behind his back.

"It's possible, yes. We don't know as we don't have the printed versions who have gone up in flames. Both healers are Muggle-borns. And Muggles are on the way to become "digital" or were according to our expert. Anyway, their files are all saved on small hard drives and their personal laptops, which they always carry with them. Whoever started the fire only destroyed physical printed paper or parchment files. It tells us that the perpetrators must have been purebloods or wizards unfamiliar with Muggle technology. I'm only familiar with it because my ex was a half-blood introducing me to Muggle technology." Clobberfield explained with excitement brushing his hand through his blond mop of hair.

Kingsley smiled. "So, they didn't accomplish anything. Finally, that's the first good news I've heard today. So, what's in those files that are so dangerous for them?".

"We don't entirely know yet. Our technical contractor in the Muggle world managed to decrypt the stick and saved the data onto a second stick, just to make sure that we can't accidentally delete evidence and have spare copies. We made sure that he couldn't get privy to the information."

"Are you certain about that?" Kingsley inquired. After all, they weren't experts in Muggle technology themselves.

"Yes. Well, we are still trying to make sense of it. We've been using the spare laptop that he gave us to access the files, and we are slowly working through it. The records suggest that as Astoria Malfoy had carried a hereditary curse, it meant that it was genetic" Winston explained crossing his arms sitting onto his desk with one leg drawn.

"Ok?." Kingsley said in a questioning tone.

"We didn't understand either, and the files are a lot of medical gibberish, but the healers explained it like that: DNA is the material that carries all the information about how a living thing will look and function. For instance, DNA in humans determines such things as what colour the eyes are and how the lungs work. Each piece of information is carried on a different section of the DNA. These sections are called genes. It is in every cell of every living thing. Quite remarkable really."

"And we also found out that a few years ago a former Ravenclaw was even able to prove that the ability to do Magic hinges on one single gene combination, that every human has. If the gene is active, then the individual can do magic. That's why Muggles can have Muggle-born witches, and long lines of Wizards can have Squibs." Clobberfield clarified further.

"The Muggles are more advanced in that area and are working towards fixing genetic errors." The minister could feel the growing excitement of his two Aurors. But this information seemed vaguely familiar to him. He had heard something of that sort before from a former order member who had experimented with something like this. The very former order member that had been on his mind earlier.

"So, as nobody knew how to stop this disease, they wanted to find out which gene was affected. So, they commissioned DNA tests on Astoria Malfoy and her son as they share relation." Clobberfield resumed.

"That didn't turn out as well as they thought it would. Something in that DNA test didn't make sense to them. Their first assessment was that the illness was rewriting her genetic code, but then the thought what if it was something else. So, they asked Mr Draco Malfoy for his DNA to match it with their son. That did fit with what they knew. Draco's DNA showed that Scorpius was his son. 98.75% match. They checked with the laboratory to see if they might have accidentally switched the samples of Mrs Malfoy, but they haven't. So, they asked the entire Greengrass Family for a DNA Test. Her DNA wasn't so much different than her sister's." Winston continued the red thread.

"I still don't know what you are getting at," Kingsley remarked, yet his suspicion grew. It dawned on him that Augusta's own doubt could be all too accurate. Especially, as her friend, Andromeda also had developed a similar interest lately.

"Well, Boss, we didn't either at first. Eventually, we figured out from the files that the curse wasn't rewriting her DNA. But the healers heavily implied that Scorpius Malfoy might not be Astoria Malfoy's son. Which is technically not even a crime. Some purebloods are sometimes using surrogate mothers to conceive. There is even an agency in Diagon Alley for that. The hostess provides fertile witches for pureblood families which are paid to have intercourse with the male until she carries their spawn."

His jaw dropped. It seemed that there was a lot that he didn't know. And he was the Minister of magic, for Merlin's sake. Why had he never heard about that one before? He would certainly have to look into yet another problem. Perhaps Augusta's theory was correct, or the Malfoy's had employed such a surrogate. But he tended to lean towards Augusta's theory.

"You are right. It isn't illegal if the mother relinquished all rights to her child. Why did they not voice their suspicions before?" he sighed.

"Probably, because nobody would have believed them. Their words against the words of old purebloods families. Old Wizarding families that have lost prestige due to their allegiance to You-know-who, but they still rank higher in society than our two healers. They wanted to focus on saving Astoria Malfoy's life first. But after her death, they did not want to immediately confront Mr Malfoy with it during his mourning period because he would probably not believe them either. Or he might have known about it anyway but kept quiet due to the stigma that comes with using a surrogate mother in our society." Winston elaborated dispassionately.

"And only a few Muggle-born know about DNA, or its possibilities so, the Wizengarmot would not even take a second glance at that. Especially after they rejected the outcome of the only study that was done in that direction. In any case, they might have accused them of helping Astoria Malfoy die earlier." Clobberfield added.

"But that does not mean that they just let go of it. No, they managed to track down a misfiled file on Astoria Malfoy's pregnancy, which we also have a copy of on here. Apparently, she had a complicated pregnancy and was rather close to miscarrying several times."

"Then we need to talk with her former healer," Kingsley told them eagerly. "Does he still work in St. Mungos?" Both shook their heads simultaneously.

"No, here comes the next 'coincidence' boss," Clobberfield said conspiratorially. "He came into some inheritance from a long lost relative a few years back and retired early to spend more time with his family."

"We found out an hour ago, that he passed away in his sleep yesterday evening." The Winston one lamented.

"Convenient," Kingsley remarked sarcastically mentally deciding to put another Auror to investigate this healer's demise. Somebody was three steps ahead of them. Was this one person or a collective of individuals? It almost appeared to be a very opportunistic collective.

"Well, we do not quite know how to proceed right now," Clobberfield told him. "We do not know who exactly is responsible for starting the fire. We don't even know for sure if it is related. All we have are suspicions. And if we confront the Malfoys or the Greengrass about our suspicion, then we might put Scorpius Malfoy and the last remaining healer in danger. Because if they perpetrators realize that he is the only link to their possible crime, if there is a crime at all, they might make him and the surviving healer a target."

"Then, we need to build a solid case first. If he is not Astoria Malfoy's son and she was pregnant, then where is her baby? Who exactly is Scorpius Malfoy's mother then?" Kingsley urged them believing to know precisely who the mother really was, but he could not influence his investigators.

They had to find it out themselves. He needed physical evidence and for Merlin's sake protect the boy. If the perpetrator was going to such length,…

"Well, we know that Healer Fallus delivered her child, but he destroyed all his files when he retired and as he died, it's a dead end.

"You said that the DN ahm… whatever proved that Draco Malfoy was the father. Then perhaps he knows about a second potential woman who he could have impregnated in the critical time. You know to find the surrogate."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay healthy and safe.  
> Looking forward to your comments.


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